General Chat

Afternoon all ,we have just come back from the day out relief from all the noise outside what with the screeding machine ,the heavy lorries taking the old road surface away ,and tractors whizzing about everywhere so the bus ride to Durham was a blessed relief from all the racket.
We found out today thaqt by using one local bus ,and our passes ,we can go ,in stages ,right down to Whitby and back free ofcharge ,so we are thinking of going down one day this next fortnight,finding a b&B or a hotel and stopping over for a couple of days.
Dorothy ,next year ,buy yourself a few square plant pots and put your tom's in those ,it will save the wind rolling them over the patio and reduce the damage to your plants.
Still trying to think of the name of that clematis but i would have thought any one would do ,i think the trick with themis ,regular feeding starting in early spring,i do that with the rhodedendren and notice that next years buds are already forming.
Time to be off again ,my turn for the tea tonight and as yet i havn't even started the dish oooooops,catch you laater all ,Fred.

Good morning all, after a warm and sunny Sunday today is still warm but a bit dull. We may get a shower or two later which will probably bring more weeds - seem to be fighting a losing battle with the pesky things. Oh well it's good exercise I suppose.
Fred, hope you can find the name of that clematis, it sounds ideal for where I want to plant it. To cover the brick wall of the outbuilding (which used to be where the coal was - part coal storage and part whatever) It's where I keep my freezer now and the garden equipment that needs to be secure.
Well, it might have been dry outside but it was very wet inside this weekend - the water supply to the built in washing machine and dishwasher sprang a leak. First thing Thursday morning Chris came home from work and heard water dripping, he thought it was outside at first but then realised it wasn't - luckily that water supply is separate from the rest so was able to turn it off - but of course it had made a rather large puddle. As he still had to work another night we had to cope with the machines pulled out into the kitchen - blocking the back door - and making life a bit difficult, it's not a very big kitchen. Anyway to cut a long story short, thankfully I have a good supply of large towels which help mop up the puddles and eventually it all got sorted with everything dry and working properly again.
Brenda, it was also a year ago on the same day as your Dad that my brother died. I can't believe how quickly that year has gone and I find it hard to accept that he is no longer with us. Sadly we have no grave to visit as his wife has not told anyone where his ashes are - we are respecting her privacy but it is harder for his children not to know - he was divorced from their mother some years ago though he was still part of their lives. It is a very sad state of affairs.
Dorothy, your poor tomatoes are really suffering but hopefully you might still get some better weather and they will perk up and produce a good crop. Not sure that mine will as they are growing taller but don't look as though they will produce much fruit. I have a cucumber and a pepper plant, both rescued from the reduced bench at the local DIY store - they are showing their gratitude by perking up quite a lot and their are some fruits showing.
I keep being interrupted by the phone so better finish for now. Must mention that Indira realised that her boss in her Saturday job is a local counciller so she had a word with him about her problems and he has said he will speak to the Housing Assoc. about it.. Fingers crossed that might get a result.
Take care
Love
kathleen
Built in is all very nice until you have to move things to get behind - so

Morning all,its wet and grey here again,after a really lovelly weekend.
I did not do much yesterday as i was sort of drifting in and out of nostalgia,it isn't what Dad would have wanted ,so I kept trying to do bits of things.I was also thinking of my aunt and uncles who are still here but two looked so frail last time I saw them!!
I can get to Bury on the tram with my bus pass Dorothy,can't get much shopping unless John is with me or meets me at the station with the car as its a longish walk when you have shopping.I can also go into the city centre on the bus or tram ,thats where our nearest Aldi is.
We will be down sizing to one car ,but I can hopefully keep mine running for a year after finishing work.,We hope to trade them both in and get a newer one between us.
Glad your friend is feeling ok at the moment Dorothy,how is the camp going for the children.?
Washer has just finished so I had better go and put it on the maiden to dry !!.
Kathleen hope the flat gets sorted soon,no wonder you and your grand daughter are stressed.
Fred ,sorry I did not reply abouy the fence,Have taken note of what you said ,than you.
Time for a cuppa and a bite to eat .
Take care
Brenda

sunday evening almost 11pm my time hi everyone brenda glad to hear that you had a nice day on friday at the market I often think about how we met that day how time flies, anniversarys of people we loose are always hard, you say that you may give up your car whenyou retire is that to downsize to a one car family . we have had a funny day here great thunder storms this morning and sheeting rain the sky was black, then about noon it improved the sun shone it reached a high of 32 plu the humidity made it about 40, then about 6pm back to very strong thunder and lightening and rain the cats were not happy, I went over to have a quick visit with andrew and lindy inbetween the storms, once again my pots of tomatoes were rolling around the balcony the weather has not been very good to them, spoke to my friend peggy in p.e.i. she is home from the hospital on long acting morphine and streoids she says she feels better now that she is home and just taking one day at a time and enjoying life as much as she can. fred glad to read your response to the bus pass issue well I shall pop off to bed bye for now dorothy

Hi Everyone,had not realised I have not put anything on here for a few days,been busy.Was out with my sister on Friday managed to have a lovely few hours on Bury market.Had a nice sandwich anda cup of iced lemon tea in BHS.
Also bumped into anumber of people we knew,managed also to get most of the items we had both gone for,which is rather good.
was working yesterday and was so tired when I got home only stayed up till 8.45 then had to go to bed.Mind you I was awake at 6am !!!
My dad died a year ago today,so have been to the cemetary .my sister was meeting me there but text to say she would be going later ,but we bumped into my other sister who came back to pick up some things ,and have a cuppa.Was asked to go to see my brother but I did not fancy going to his local to se him and the family.
I love my bus pass and would certainly be reluctant to give it up.John has never used his and neither as a few of our friends ,they still prefer to use their cars and think that they should have reduced parking tariffs instead .!!
I would not mind payning a small charge but even half price would mean I would not go out as much ,I had planned to do all sortd when I finish work and have to give up my car,
Be back tomorrow ,have to put the tea on,. Brenda

Hi Dorothy ,yes ,i too read about the threatened withdrawl of the bus passes,funny isn't it that wales have had this system working for years with no bother ,as far as i understand ,Scotland as well .
Seemsthat england is being shortchanged by Mr Brown after he insisted that the passes were started in england too.
The main trouble is ,that this waste of space prime minister is too busy wasting money on daft schemes that he knows won't work ,paying ministers daft pensions and bonuses,and salting money away in his sky rocket while the average man in the street is struggling with resession.
Apart from that ,it's a lovely morning he he.
I,m sure that most pensioners wouldn't mind paying so much towards their passes seeing that the government is playing hard up again.
Had a look around out back this morning to see that things are going well ,we even have some strawberries nearly ready [slurp] cream in the fridge too ready for kick off .
Will be back later when genes have sorted themselves out again ,the way the print is jumping around as i type is giving me a bad head ,Fred.

hi everyone from a cool but pleasent day in barrie my friend was picked up by her son to-day and we had a good day yesterday shopping uching out and a good win at the casino made a profit no loss, one of the things we were discussing was the news that seniors may have to have a means test to keep their bus passes at home I was wondering how that was being recieved I gather that if you have a car they feel you should not have on only the poor!! I will have to speak to anne about that .we watched a billy connelly dvd last night funny as always. andrew is 43 to-day and says he does not feel older he and lindy were doing some repair to the swimming pool it had a small leak , then later they are going out for a quiet dinner seeing the children are away at camp they can have some adult time. they have recieved e-mail photo''s from camp that the camp sends out they have seen ian swimming and bryan in a canoe but nothing of laura as yet you have to pick them out of the crowd of other campers. tennis starts again on monday the rogers cup from montreal so I shall be pleased about that, hope you all have a good week-end bye for now dorothy

Hi Kathleen ,cor ,havn't grown Clematis since we left Birchvale five years ago ,but remember one of them [blue and white] bloomed twice a year,i will see if i can find out what it was called,and let you know,but quite a few bloom in march ,and again in august.
I agree Kathleen ,it's time to talk about legal action if these people don,t sort themselves out ,they are raking the water and shouldn't be allowed to get away with any more prevarication,get onto the ombudsman ,and get him to kick a few butts,they have already broken at least three codes of practice governed by the master builders federation.
All this stress should be pointed out too,a threat of a soliciter may bring results if all else fails ,a damages claim may move them.
The grandson should enjoy his time in Newcastle ,it's one of the best uni's in the country ,great living accomodation ,on ,and off campus,and there are many bars and cafe's which cater for students ,grub at reduced prices ,but ,there are the usual sharks around ,however ,there is a good students union who will steer you in the right direction.
Had a busy day ,what with spring cleaning the car ,inside and out ,feeding the garden out back ,with the front to do tonight ,using the coupled hoses.
With the caravan gone ,i was able to get the jet wash out to do the car ,and found it a lot better and easier than a bucket and sponge,and will get the washer back out tuesday to jet clean the bins when they have been emptied.
Next week we will be out most days ,getting out of the street before the contractors move on site to resurface the road.
We will of course have emergency access but feel it would be better to get out and about and avoid all the dust and noise.during the day,a picnic at the coast could be in the offing.
Time to find something for the tea,Catch you later Fred.

Hi all, not been a bad day after yesterday's heavy rain - all day. A bit dull but it brightened up a bit around teatime. Forecast for a good weekend so here's hoping they've got it right this time.

Feeling a bit down and the weather didn't help. A year ago tomorrow when my brother died. Have been remembering so many things, still can't believe he is no longer with us.

Brenda, those HIPS things are more trouble than they are worth - and expensive as well. Are the concrete "panels" you mention at the bottom of the fence? There is a name for them but I can't remember it (forget a lot of things these days). They do help make the fence last longer as they protect from rotting at the base of the fence. My son put them in when he renewed his fencing, that was a few years ago now and they still look good whereas his next door neighbour is having to renew some of his fencing which didn't have them.

Have now been told by the people responsible for repairs that the company they use for maintenance say they will get round to doing g.daughters floor "when they have got all their other jobs out of the way".
I told them, not good enough and am now following this up with the Housing Manager. All repairs should have been done before the property was reallocated. G.daughter was speaking to her opposite neighbour today who said the place had been empty for some time and he told her to insist that her kitchen was refurbished as well as all the others had been done in the block. It seems the previous "tenant" had never actually lived there but sublet to various other people - problem was he was taking rent from them but not paying it to the Housing Assoc. so they were evicted. The Housing Assoc. have taken him to court as there have been letters from the court (though they have been informed that he is no longer there). Also various other Debt Collecting agencies - I have phoned them so they won't be sending any more letters. G.daughter is getting so stressed by all this - and that is the reason she was rehoused - because the stress of living with her mother was making her ill.

Dorothy, finding gifts for men can be a problem. My sons are like your Andrew - they could open a very large shirt & sweater shop between them.
I think gift vouchers are often the best bet. Hope your weather improves, you seem to be having the same problem as us - too much rain and wind.

Fred, any ideas for a decent clematis to replace the horrible one I am taking out? An early flowering one for preference and large flowers, I have three late flowering ones, two purple flowered and one magenta. All have done really well and look good - but I can't remember the names. I would like something with some colour. Have read about the museum at Beamish, would love to be able to visit there sometime - maybe one day !!

My grandson is off to Newcastle Uni in September, he is really looking forward to it. He has taken some time to decide what he wanted to do and it is good to see that he has now finished his college course with distinctions and going to Uni with excellent grades - he's doing web design.

I am so thirsty today, must go and make the umpteenth cup of tea - I shall be up and down all night going to the loo !!!

Hope you all have a good weekend.
Take care
Love
kathleen

Hiya,we had a warm but dull day here,but it did brighten up after tea.
Had a busy day of today really,had to go to Dads this morning as the people who do the HIPS pack had to check the house for a few things,then take some documents to the estate agents ,and then went out to lunch.We went with the friends we go on holiday with.We went to a pub we have not been in for years and years.It recently had a good write up in our local paper,so we gave it a try and had a wonderful lunch.Its on our list to do again as they had a really varied menu.
Off again tomorrow so have cleaning and shopping to do ,Friday I am off as well so hope to go to Bury with my sister.
None of what you said applies to our houses Fred .they have always been privately owned,we do intend to ask both sides but don't expect any help from one side,so we think we may just patch that side,and the other side might help financially .but he does no work at all outside the house it is usually ,her and her mother!!!,
My neices husband does gardens and he might be able to get us a good deal on some panels.John thinks we should put more concrete "panels "in so that the wooden panels are not as big and they should last longer.Other neighbours have done this and looks ok up to now.
I have wanted to go to Beamish for years,did talk to dad about going once or twice as he fancied it himself,but its not Johns cup of tea.Might see if my friend wants to go and find a trip that does it.
Have replied to your pm Fred,Thank you for the advise.
see you all la ter <Brenda

Afternoon peeps hope everyone had a good weekend and is now looking forward to the next he he..
No way are you responsible for both fences Brenda it's one side or the other.
Having found out which is yours ,the other one is easily sorted,get in touch with the council and complain about the condition of the fence and garden,the council must act on informing the neighbours that part of the contract of the council house act or ,in the case of a house bought off the council means the occupier of said house Must keep the grounds in a reasonable cultivated condition.Afraid i issss too busy to come down ,what with doing the fence next door one way for an old lady who has two useless sons and no hubby ,to doing the lawns the other side for a single lass with a young son ,and alcahol prob's on the other ,between that and my own garden ,plus the work round the house ,I could do with help he he.
As i said in my pm ,Brenda ,a modern laptop can handle anything you throw at it ,mine will do far more, and store masses of info that my desk top would blow a fuse rather than tackle .lol
Our new supermarket that opened yesterday is great [Morrisons] only half a mile up the road through the park meaning in good weather ,we can amble up there in our own slow way ,taking a shopping trolley apiece ,leaving the car at home getting our exercise at the same time.
We have decided to go to Beamish over the next two weeks,revisiting a museum that has doubled in size over the last 4 years when we visited last
This museum houses a complete 18th -19 th century village ,complete with working bakery ,brewery ,with drays and horses,a main street with coop store ,open for visitors ,a cafe ,and even has running trams ,and railway to get round the site,and the kids love the working farm.drift coal mine ,and pit head,i have had to buy an extra 4 gig camera card for all the photos i will be taking. Well ,time to go,and things to do before tea ,catch you later peeps ,Fred,

goodmorning brenda glad your night out went so well do you think you can talk john into going to the lakes I think that would be wonderful the talk of the lakes brings back memories of grange over sands and cartmel . problems with fences seem to be world wide there is always one side that does not want to pitch in with the expenses, 43 yrs ago when I was expecting andrew we put up a fence our neighbours were italian and he brought in a gang of friends the only cost was I was to provide a spaghetti meal at the end of the day have you any idea how intimidating it was to cook for 8 big italian men who were used to good spaghettii dinners. that reminds me the son will be 43 on the 8th. kathleen my tomatoes are not well still only about 5 tomatoes and they are very green last evening I was dashing to put them in a sheltered spot as the wind came up again. I am going out to the shops early to-day as the humidity is high to-day it is allready feeling about 34 and thunder storms are forecast for this afternoon I need to look for a gift for andrew but have run out of ideas he could open his own shirt shop, so maybe a gift card bye for now dorothy

Good morning all. A damp and gloomy start to the day, still a bit windy and lots of showers - so much for that long, hot summer we were promised. Though the Met Office have now said they got it wrong - I think we'd already guessed that !!!
Yes Brenda, five years have just flown by only recently realised that I joined GR over 7 years ago. Still in touch with quite a few people from back then.
I would love to have a laptop - then I wouldn't have to wait for my turn to use this computer. Do you remember the meetings, you had one with She Wray at the same time as ours in Guildford? That was six years ago.
Hope your weather holds for when Anne comes to visit you Dorothy. Sounds as though you have planned some great outings. How are your tomatoes doing, have they recovered from the battering they got? Mine seem to have made little progress though I have kept them watered, just got taller and that's all.
Sorry have to go - let the phone go to answerphone but it's important so must ring them back.
Will catch up again later.
Love
kathleen

Hello all and my apologise again ,mind youits not all my fault could not get internet access on a couple of occassions,and don't really know why!!.
Been chatting to David and we both think we need a need pc,or a box/tower at least,I was fancying a laptop but not sure it will hold what I want to put on it.
John hope Gayle gets the go a head next week,she must be a saint waiting so patiently.
Kathleen I remember when your daughter was diognosed,?spelling ?
does not seem like 5 years,thats when I first started to chat on Genes.It would also have been then when my dad was diognoesd as well. Do you still keep in contact with any one else from then,?
Dorothy sound like Anne and yourself will be busy when she is over,hope the weather stays ok.
John and I have been thinking of a long weekend next month I would like to go to th elakes ,but he is not to keen,we will probably go and see his mother but I do not want to stay in the caravan with them as they only have one spare bed which is a single.Might book a b&b somewhere and take them out for a lunch,she will not go out at night.
Had a good night out on Friday for my friends 60th ,have some great photos and the meal was good as well.It was just the rain when we came out that spoilt it all.
Fred fancy redoing our fence ,? there's nowt like cheeck.LOL .John is reluctant to do it as the neighbours on one side just will not do anything in their garden and the otherside think they should not pay for the fence between us as its our problem so we will end up paying for it all again.
See you tomorrow, Brenda

hi it seems everyone is busy enjoying the week-end to-day is the last day of our holiday week-end and the weather has been very kind sunny but not to hot, the children left for camp this morning for two weeks of outdoor living over night camp trips etc not my cup of tea but they enjoy it after he drops the children of at camp andrew is of to ottawa for the week on business lindy will stay with the dog at the cottage for a few days. I am expecting isobelle up for a visit on thursday her son will drop her off and pick her up on saturday just a quick visit as her daughter is due to give birth on the 13th (a booked c/s). to-day I plan on a visit to the book store and maybe take myself out for lunch there are a couple of new places I want to try before anne arrives, I also have to get some trip maps done for the day trips I plan on taking with anne. I have decide on going to fergus, the elora gorge and st jacobs that is a menonite community with a great market and incredible quilt shop, then up past huntsville to a 3hr boat ride amongst the 3000 islands and maybe the fall colours will be on show as it will be the middle of sept bye for now dorothy

goodmorning from a sunny barrie john good to see you back this business with your wife is certainly taking a long time it must be very frustrating for both of you,the local hospital near me obtained funding for a seperate centre for kidney problems to be built it is about 3 minutes from me by car and it has proved to be a great help to people in the community and for many miles around, after several years of trying to obtain funding and doing fund raising we are now building a cancer centre so that people in barrie and further north don't have to go to toronto for treatment ie radiation and chemo. the hour and a half drive on the 400 in winter is wicked especially if you are ill we do have people who go on a list and help to drive people who have no help or family to drive them angels I call them. fred your trip to durham sounded great how special to walk where your gr grandfather had walked it is a special feeling I am sure. the highway was very busy yesterday as folks head up to the cottages and the lakes around here even at 2am this morning I was sitting out on the balcony and could see them in the distance still heading up, it was one of those nights where I went to bed at 11 woke up at 2 and thought it was morning felt I had slept all night but did go back to bed after a while, I am going to see if I can find the new farmers market that has opened in town to get some fresh produce so I shall say bye for now dorothy

Morning all [just]and John ,nice to see you back again ,surely this time there will be good news regarding your wife ,think a letter of complaint to your local government rep is in order mind ,this debacle has been going on far too long ,time to start kicking butts ,methinks.
Hope all is sorting itself out for the two of you.
Heck of a week we have had ,starting with fun stuff[the cheese story in my old town ,of birth] ,finishing off with a thieving git nearly being collared by the police ,only to get away from them by coming over all the back fences in the row smashing two of next door /mine's panels in the process grrrrr.
There were two cars full of coppers chasing this lad on a stolen motor bike and as he dumped it they all followed him to the back ,instead of splitting up and some coming round the front of the houses derrrrr ,had they had done so they would have ,at the very least ,been able to keep him in sight until the chopper arrived a scant two minutes later,talk about keystone cops.
This lad came over the fence like a whippet/greyhound, and by the time i had gotten up and opened the front door ,he was well away,lol.
The lady next door is going to be importing two tons of sand and thirty square metres of turf in three weeks ,and has no direct access to her garden ,so i have said i will repair the fence for now,and the day she is planning for the delivery ,i will leave my drive clear and remove the fencing panels so she can get her gear through my back garden through to hers,her only other option was to move it through her house ,and what a mess that would leave.
It will only take a couple of hours to put the new fencing up afterwards,so that isn't too bad i can manage that okay.
The trip to Chester lee Street was a wash out ,over the last six years ,the market apparently got smaller and smaller and when we arrived we got one hell of a shock ,he he,took one look and said ,hell ,we are going to Durham instead,so,we did just that ,and had a lovely two hours wandering though the big indoor market and round the narrow windy streets, little changed in two hundred years.
We even walked through the bus station where my gt gt grandads house once stood,getting goosebumps at the thought of my footsteps going over his in many places lol,quite a sobering thought.
Took a few pics of the river ,castle ,cathederal and bridges if anyone is interested,and wow ,the new camera is very good ,and easy to use.
I even got one of liz at the front of the house this morning playing peek a boo with the cat even one that really looks as though Hissy is playing coy
,lol
Have to go back to B&Q this afternoon ,or tomorrow now i have measured the rail lengths ,uncut they wouldn't have fitted in the car ,but i have to go back to get the screws i need in any case.
Hope everyone is having a nice weekend i am off now, my drill is fully charged, to put up the wife's grab handle next to the bath ,after all .i have to keep the who females of the house content don't i.?
Fred.

Hi again
Nothing is happening much apart from it being wet. Gayle is keeping well and hopefully on 15th we will know what is going to be done. On the news the other day hospitals are reportedly not doing some non-urgent surgery due to the swine flu - so whether that will affect Gayle we don't know. Here's hoping that it doesn't.

John

hello goodness fred cheese falling from the sky whatever next this morning it is nice and sunny should be a good week-end weather wise. the tomato plants seem to be recovering from the attacks of the wind and rain I now have a total of 5 on both plants green and growing hopefully more will come along.I was thinking of taking anne to the thousand islands about a 2hr drive from here there even is a hotel on one of the islands that you can stay at and the boat tour is great. to-day I will pop down for the afternoon friday tea I have missed going for the last two weeks as I had other things going on. we have about a dozen computors at the library and you book time if you need to use them and then upstairs is a very large childrens section and they also have a computor area. it is a very big building and they say they see over a 1000 people a day, they are hoping to build a new one in the south end of town a that area has expanded with more houses being built. they also have several meeting rooms that you can use for groups etc, in the summer they have programmes of music going on ie. jazz groups piano and guitar groups. it is quite nice to sit on the upstairs outside patio and listen tot he music well I must get on with the day bye for now dorothy

Good morning on this bright but slightly chilly morning. Forecast for a dry day so will be trying to get some tidying up down outside later.
Dorothy, so sorry to read about your friend. It is hard for you being so far away, keeping in touch by phone means that she knows you are there for her. It has just reminded me that my daughter will have been free from cancer for five years this November - hopefully her final check-up will show that she is still clear.
Hope you manage to find some good trips for Ann when she visits with you.
Fred - don't have a tin hat so guess I will have to make do with an old saucepan lol !! Trying to sweep up the mess they leave is difficult as the wretched things stick to the paving slabs. As I was doing this yesterday there were about a hundred birds sitting on my roof - I swear they were laughing at me !!
Brenda, you have a difficult job trying to clear your Dad's house - it can be heart-wrenching parting with things that have, maybe, been part of your life growing up. Hope you manage to get it sorted out without too many problems. School holidays can be a problem especially when the weather is bad, our little library gets inundated with youngsters wanting to use the computers. It is only a tiny place, now housed in a small shop which was once the hairdressers. They closed our "proper" library along with the centre run by Age Concern - supposedly to rebuild. The new complex was supposed to house the library the centre and the doctors surgery and was supposed to have been finished by September 2008 - they haven't even started it knocking the old buildings down yet and I have to say the people in this area are not very happy about it all. There is a centre in the village but it hasn't got a proper kitchen so cannot provide the hot meals that many of the older people used to enjoy. Also it is quite a long walk for many of us so not so many are able to make use of it. Have to say I never did use it but several of my neighbours did and used to enjoy having at least one meal a week there as much for the company as anything else. It was also very good value, particularly good for those who lived alone. That's Surrey County Council for you - they should have left us in Middlesex.
Well that's my moan over for today LOL
Hope Sylvia and Johan are enjoying their break and keeping well. John and Gayle, hope all is well with you.
Have a good day everyone - and keep out of mischief Fred (why haven't I seen you on FB?)
Take care
Love
Kathleen