General Chat

Morning peoples,well there's a thing Brendas dry roast is the same as my grandad used to make his many years ago ,only he called them water roast ,par boil ,into aroasting dish ,and bast a couple of times during cooking with the same water used to par boil them in, his used to come out pretty fluffy and soft like Brendas, but i never mysef got it quite right so ,i wonder ,did he do the same ,the first baste being cooking fat and the remainder water,must give it a go,as said they are the healthy option ,no fat to speak of ,and just as tasty as the other sort.
Yes ,i will never be allowed to live those yorkies down Kathleen,i did them as i usually do,flour water ,egg and a pinch of salt only i took out the wrong bag and used self raising flour ooooooops ,nearly bent me knife cutting into the pudding he he.
Sometimes i add a little chopped onion ,or a little rosemary to the mix ,i find it makes a nice change.
Well ,it looks like a nice start to the day here,but the weather in Blackpool dosn't look too promising lol,heads up son hope you took your wellies and brolly with you ,and i'm glad for your sake that you didn't take the tent but opted for a caravan.
This company ,Easy Flow who are doing the piping for the water board could do with inserting the word [Cowboy] into their name ,he he,four times in four days they have had to pump out these four holes in the road outside,and still they fill back up within the hour because they havn't been sealed properly ,we have our own private watering holes in the street ,lol,all we need now are lions ,giraffe.and gazelle to drink from them ,and we could be advertising Newcastle as the new savannah complete with animals.
I'm not amused really ,a precious commodity like water being wasted in this way is not a good advert for a supposedly green city .
Well ,i am off for my morning swan around the boards ,take care all,have a nice day,and ,most of all [Brenda] take it easy. Fred.

Hi everyone,was working on the late shift tonight 12.30/8pm came home to a smaller version of yesterdays lunch,just cold lamb,carrots and dry roasted potatoes.But still very nice.
I have done dry roasted for years ,got the idea from Rosemary Connelly .You par boil your potatoes ,then pop them in a hot roasting pan and put them in the oven til they are done as you like them.John likes his looking burnt while I am not bothered as long as they are soft inside, I sometimes spray them with the low fat oil spray you can buy.If you like them crispy you score the tops of them with a fork when put into the pan
Its the only way we do roasted pototoes now.
Kathleen you are doing well with the flat ,I had a letter saying they would put up my electric by about $30 per month ,when I phoned them they checked the records and as we have just had a new meter found I had been over charged for 2 years and instead of owing them £240 ,now owed the £8.00!! I have to phone them again to sort out my night time tarif as I don't use it enougth so they will put me on another one which will make using the drier etc more economical.
Fred did not do any yorkshires in the end ,but will let you know how next lot turn out. LOL
Of to bed now,Take care Brenda
.
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Good evening all. It could have been a warm day but the wind kept it cool, not too much rain just the odd shower and one really heavy downpour but it only lasted for about 10 minutes.

Well at last one problem solved, g.daughter now has light - finally got the electricity sorted. On Friday I got my gas and electric bills, they wanted to raise my monthly payment for the electric - and I didn't like that. So I rang to explain that, due to the boiler being kaput, we had been using the immersion heater for hot water and electric heaters for warmth. The new boiler meant that would not be happening again. To cut a long story short the lady at SE was in a chatty mood, either bored or not enough work to do (lol). I told her I was about to write a letter of complaint, she asked why so I told her the saga and she said "talk to a manager now instead of writing" so I did and the upshot was the manager tried but failed to get it done on Friday but said it would be first thing this morning and as a goodwill gesture the engineer would be instructed to put £20 credit on the meter. Didn't go quite to plan, I was there just before 9 this morning - the engineer arrived at just after 2pm and when I asked if he had put the credit on he said no instructions to do so but would make a phone call. He did and the credit was put on - he also said it was down as an afternoon call (this from the original appointment made by the very rude man I didn't tell you about on Friday). Anyway all sorted now and her fridge is plugged in to check all is working correctly. I spent most of Sunday cleaning it as it was in a very dirty state, all greasy from being next to the cooker and the poor lady who owned it being unable to do anything much for herself. That is why she was moved into a little flat where she will receive care, but she should have been getting some home help before poor soul. Makes me feel ashamed to complain of aches and pains, she is 15 years younger than me but can barely walk, has trouble with her hands and has just been diagnosed with early Alzheimers.
Got more complaining to do though, when I was cleaning the fridge the water in the sink went over the overflow - and poured straight out into the cupboard underneath and all over the floor. Luckily I had taken a few bath towels for Indira so had to grab those and managed to soak it all up before any real damage was done. So once again a phone call to ask why they are not refurbishing the kitchen area in her place when all the others in the building have been done. That's for tomorrow though, didn't have time today. It will all come right in the end - I hope!!!
Dorothy, sounds like a fantastic trip for your family I hope the weather is kind to them. Have never tried frogs legs but have eaten snails (escargot in garlic - very tasty). Bet that dove enjoyed his swim in the pool, Taking the duvets to the lauderette is my pet hate - my washing machine is ok for washing the single ones but as I take my big one I usually take them all but I like to hang them out to dry so it has to be when the weather is good.
Fred, yorkshires like house bricks - shame on you. As for using batter mix - definitely a no-no,.
Brenda what a shame you can't enjoy all of that lovely Sunday dinner - it made my mouth water reading about it. But at least you could have roasties - would also like to know how you do dry roasties.
I wonder how John and Gayle are doing. Hope Gayle has been able to start her treatment after all the delays.
The other day I noticed there seemed to be something growing with quite pretty white flowers and couldn't understand what it could be as it was all through the forsythia. It is a massive bramble and I can't see where it begins, it has grown through the forsythia and the wiegalia (sp), looks very pretty but I really don't want it there. So that is tomorrows task - find the beginning and chop it down.
Must go, didn't eat earlier as I really didn't feel like it but now my tummy is rumbling. The family had spag bol but I don't really fancy that. Might have some soup as it's late - though I think I fancy toasted cheese. My Mum would say "you can't have that at this time of night you'll have little men dancing on your chest if you do" - when I was little thought that was quite funny as I pictured little leprachauns.
Hope you all sleep well.
Take care, love
Kathleen

Hi all ,,eeeeeeee Brenda a lancashire lass who makes a mess of yorkies ?,how very dare you lol ,i never makes a mess of mine he he ,only uses the wrong flour so they come out like house bricks ,so ,beat that if you can .,the missus cheats and uses batter mix which is cheating to the worst degree ,lol, i prefer the old way ,hand whisk and a little bowl leaving the rest to providence.
It's that time of year again peeps,Fred up's this morning switches kettle on for my cuppa and opens the blinds to reveal a missel thrush on the lawn pecking at a worm on the lawn,'ere .'old on a minute ,thats no worm [groans out loud] no,it can't be ,yes ,oh blimey [groans again ] it's a ruddy cherry,blast ,runs back upstairs for the tin hat.
No laughing matter folks ,i have to wear this hat for a few weeks now until the trees out front have been stripped of fruit,the pips will either hit me on the bald patch or land on the lawn ,where upon they will fly like bullets when the lawnmower blades hit them,even the hedgehog scuttles for cover when the mower comes out,and Fred is wondering wether to get the old cricket knee pads out as well ,cherry pips coming back over hurt like hell when they hit the front of the legs .
Oh well ,nothing else for it ,he he ,i will after all look like the mad bugger the neighbours suspect i am ,shorts on ,knee pads and a plastic bob the builder site hat on ,lol,i have taken to hiding the cameras before i go out in case the boss gets ideas above her station.
Hasn't been a bad day really , i managed to get the back garden tidied up and the few weeds removed out of the borders before i felt the first spots of rain.
Not to worry ,the front lawn and borders can be done anytime the clouds roll away .
How do you dry roast the potatoes? Brenda ,i meant to ask ,and forgot,i have heard of ,and done ,water roast for people on diets ,but dry roasts are new to me.
Pity you didn't have a camera handy Dorothy ,i have never heard of ,or seen a dove in water most unusual ,it must have been a sight to behold.
This plurry cat keeps trotting over my puter keyboard every two minutes he he,she is telling me i'm overdue to feed her ,crikey ,i dont need a clock as she starts on the button at 5pm ,he he ,morning is even worse.lol.i get a little nip on the back of my leg if i take too long getting her breakfast bowl out.
see ya later .Fred.

hi brenda and a belated birthday to john the lunch you two were planning sounded wonderful hope you both enjoyed it, I took more stuff over to the family washing machine to-day blankets etc as I have a queen size bed it helps to do the large stuff at their house, now just the two twin beds to do and some winter parkas and I shall be all done, today while I was there sitting out on the deck I spied something in the swimming pool andrew had left the solar blanket off and left the key with the folks next door in case they wanted to swim finally I saw it was a dove having a gay old time it was windy so there were some small waves and it was bobbing up and down it stayed in the pool for about an hour , just going to make a coffee and do a bit of reading take care bye for now dorothy

Hi folks,its not a very nice day here weatherwise,started off really well and has gone down hill since!!
Had to nip to my sisters (I have 3)with something this morning and was surprised to find she wasn't in.Well since then I have found out they were all in bed!! at 10.45am.I suppose I should have rang but they knew I was going over this morning.
We are trying to set the answer phone up on our new landline phone and getting frustrated to say the least ,so I am going on the BT web site to print more instructions off.You only get a set page with the phone.!!! If we still can not sort it you have to phine them,all extra as I am not on a bt line.
Will keep you posted.
Hope the family are having a good time Dorothy,good idea about the douvet we have to take ours to a launderette but they are closing down so fast these days/
Its Johns birthday today ,we should be going out but decided to have a fullblown Sunday lunch at home we are both doing it so it is not to much bother,Roast lamb shoulder,dry roast and mash potatoes,cabbage,cauliflower,carrots and garden peas.Mint sauce ,gravy and may be yorkshires if they turn out ,last time tehy lookd like pancakes ,dont know what went wrong.
I am only having the dry roast pot and a small amount of lamb,due to the diet ,which is doing ok.
speak to you tomorrow,take care,Brenda

hi one and all it has been a very hot day I was over at the family home checking on things and doing some laundry like duvet's etc that I don't like to do here lindy's machine is a big one so I take this chance to do some things that you only do once in a while, kathleen you asked if they were staying in lewes the whole time no they have day trips to london and brighton on sunday they are going to the show stomp in london, then on saturday they leave on the transmarche ferry to dieppe and a visit tot he war cemetary, then onto paris they have rented a flat there to do some more sightseeing plus a trip to juno beach, lindy will kepp them busy Ian wants to try frogs legs and other different foods. I watered his vegatable garden to-day per his instructions hope I don't kill the veg, brenda hope you had a good day with your sister bye for now dorothy

Hi very quick message,will be back later with longer one,been busy getting in food shopping and been out and about with one of my sisters who is on holiday.
Be back later.
Brenda

hi I am coming on line early to-day as it is going to be a scorcher and I need to pop out to the shops it will be great to see the sun but the humidity will be rough, thanks kathleen for the weather report aa my family arrived they are taking a train to lewes so it is 9am my time 2pm yours so I think they should have arrived at lindy's sisters by now her husband will not be there right away as he had a tee off time at st andrews this am that he had waited a year for andrew was hoping there might be a message for him to dash up there and make up a fourth gosh he can dream, fred your day out with liz was great to read you sounded like a great travel guide I could see the places in my minds eye and yet I have never been to those places thanks it was great I guess brenda is still doing the washing hope she is ok bye fornow dorothy

Good morning all.

Sounds as though you enjoyed your day out Fred, it is nice to see that our council tax gets put to good use in keeping the areas we live in pleasant to look at. There are some places that look so pretty and others are left to get run down and tatty.
Hope you have caught up on your washing Brenda. That's the trouble with going away - you come back to reality with a bump (and wonder did you really wear all those clothes during just one week away!!)
Dorothy, sadly it was pouring with rain at Heathrow about the time your family arrived - but it was showers and not continuous and today is dry and sunny, though not that warm. Hope they had a good flight and enjoy their stay.
Not going to update the battles to get things sorted for g.daughter. Suffice to say I am very angry - will contact Trading Standards re Southern Electric and the attitude of the arrogant man who makes appointments. Realised I am not getting anywhere with requests to get things done reasonably quickly so just have to accept waiting a couple of weeks to get things done is the norm these days.

Hope you all have a nice day
Love]
Kathleen

Morning all ,from a nice,sunny Newcastle O T where i have just made myself a cuppa before i sort out what i need to do today.
Hope your family enjoy the trip ,and the holiday Dorothy,perhaps that's why the sun has come out to play ,a nice welcome if it is.
Your council seem to be veeeery much like ours Kathleen ,slow ,full of cowboy workers with just the odd goodun' thrown in.
Liz and i went out all day yesterday because our water was off for 15 hours while they put in new pipes,blow me down ,i get up this morning and the hole next door is full of water ,come back lads ,all is NOT forgiven he he .
Any way ,we had a weird day out down the road, lol,starting with a fire on the metro line between Heworth ,and Jarrow,meaning we had to revert to the busses to get down to ,first Durham,then sunderland,then Darlington,and finally Stockton. noticingthat all the express services have been stopped ,apart from the ones from Middlebrough to Newcastle,which meant that most of the busses went roundall the little estates,and villages on the way ,one taking over one and a half hours to reach the town centre from the last.
Saw the new steps in front of the market clock ,Ann ,complete with flowing water,and had to take a piccie of the restored clock,before going into the market hall where i saw that you are still being spoilt for choice with all that fish and meat.
Stockton was very nice ,and,going down to the riverside for out sarnies we found we had sat down more or less next door to a fantastic mobile ,which had Liz well interested ,and noticed at the same time that the Tees is so clear now that you can see the river bottom ,well done to all teesiders for that ,a most impressive hour spent watching ducks ,geese and swans gobbling up our crusts.with geese in the water ,it must be really clean.
All the towns mentioned were clean with plenty of flowers and nicelly trimmed grass along the road sides a lot different from ten years ago,when all of them were tatty ,like Newcastle today ,lol,but ,i notice ,there are changes taking place here too ,less rubbish laying about and more flower borders being tended properly ,so it looks like our change of council has started to show dividends.
Going to have a lazy day today, ,just the lawns to cut ,and watering to see to,
Well ,we have out first cucumber ,so there will be no need to buy any for a good while ,her upstairs having three plants well away and two just started.
Off for a swan around now before i start those lawns,so ,have a nice day all and ,enjoy your weekend,Fred.

hi every one it is thursday evening and my entire little family are now at the airport getting ready to come over to england the flight leaves at 11 -15pm my time and gets to heathrow at 11-25 your time I had dinner over there last evening and everyone was excited, I shall miss them but hope they have a great time. we are having some nice weather at the moment it hit 30 to-day rather nice after all the rain it is still nice outside I shall make a coffe and take a book and sit outside till it gets dark it is about 8pm at the moment hope you all are well bye for now dorothy

Hi all.
Kathleen its always good to get away for some Rand R as they say ,We found that by going out to the beach and sitting there it was more relaxing .and cooler as there was always anice breeze.But you are right about some teenagers thinking they can do just whay they want and to hell with everyone else.!!
Been to thr hospital with John today ,he had an appointment at 9.45 saw the doc at 9.55 ,came out at 10.15,not bad we thought...then had to have blood tests and get a prescription filled at the pharmacy. We finally got out at 12.05,but I suppose it could have been worse.
Need to go some one at door Brenda

Hello everyone. Pleased you enjoyed your holiday Brenda, in spite of the heat - and the teenagers who always seem to thinjk the world is there solely for their benefit!! Just to have a change of scene and be able to relax is good.

Well the window latch has been replaced so that is now secure. Discovered how secure the front door is as we got locked in, luckily with the repair man.
Seems Indira turned the key again once she had opened the door and dead-locked it. Of course it shouldn't have been possible to close it but it was slightly loose and when the man came in one of us, not sure who, gave it a hard push and it closed. Wen he went to get his tools the door wouldn't open. Great fun!! He phoned to see if there was any one available to help but in the end managed to push the lever back with the key just enough to use brute force and open it. Anyway he sorted that out as well so the lever is no longer loose and he showed her how to turn the key carefully and only once.. How efficiently the repair people work, shortly after we got home someone called to ask did we have a garage door that needed replacing - No we don't have a garage. Seems they had been given the name and phone number of a lady who lives further down the road (she doesn't have a garage either) they phoned her to say they were on their way so called at our address as that is the one they were given. So some poor soul is waiting for a new garage door and two of us are wondering why they think we have garages. Funny old world.
Just waiting now for them to come and sort out the horrible floor boards, the front door should get sorted on 14th but the nice young man who did the window said not to let them replace the door, just make good the damage as the existing door is the most secure, virtually impossible to break into and fireproof. He also told us that the used to work on a repair or replace basis, nowadays the Housing people insist on repair only even when told a replacement would be better. Spending £'s to save pennies.
Still no electricity there, finally got a key for the meter which was supposed to clear the debit showing - it didn't and it means an engineer coming out to clear it. Have to phone before 4pm or they charge £46 and once we phone someone has to be on the premises until the man comes - and they work until 10pm!! Don't know whether to phone first thing and hope for an early visit or wait until midday which could mean a very late visit and this is all for someone elses debt.. As Indira said "so many things have gone wrong before I've moved in that it should all be good afterwards" Just hope all goes well with the money they have said she can claim to help her furnish the place.
It has been raining hard on and off for the past two days, thunder, hail stones and it's none too warm either. What a change from a week ago.
Off now to see if I can get some sleep.
Dorothy - I will wave at all the planes coming in tomorrow (or later today)
to wish your family a happy holiday. Are they staying in Lewes for the whole time? A lovely part of the country, hope they have a great time.

Have a good nights sleep and a good day.
Love
Kathleen

Hello,everyone,hope I get this message typed ok as some funny things are going on with this keyboard!!
Have been up since 7.30 as John was going to play golf,I have been sorting the washing out ,have had two loads in the machine already,keep looking outside as it does not look to promsing at all,but as long as I get some dry it will be ok.don't want it all over the dining room etc.
The holiday was great ,but as we have not been there during the high season for a long time had forgotten how hot it can be.!!!Did not do much .lots of walking about when it was cooler,lots of lying in the shade reading ,eating ,drinking etcdid not get in the pool at all due to the number of teenagers who seemed to think it was therie play area.!!
Have read all your messages taken best part of a half hour to read from 30 june to yesterday!!
Will be back later as i have to check to the freezer and see what my son has left us and probably go to the shops for something for tea!
Brenda

goodmorning from a rainy barrie we are not having the best of summer weather at the moment before I retired in nursing I worked 2 shifts so my wake up time is a bit confused I do find that it is about 6am that I wake up but if I sleep in till 7am one of the 2 cats likes to exercise his front claws into my scalp quite gently at first the if that does not get me up then a little firmer I swear he grins when I leap up , when to the office yesterday and picked up my call list for the week I think it will work out that I will do about 4hrs a day which will be great in the winter when I am snow bound, the family are getting really excited about the trip they fly over on thursday eve arrive at heathrow at 11-15 and then take the train to lewes to lindy's sister I think it is about 1hr of a journey. fred the patio tomato plants are in bloom and one plant has 2 tomato's coming along , Ian and lindy have planted a veg garden at the house Ian is going to leave me a list of instructions on how to look after it for as he says "grandma you have black thumbs not green" the boy knows me well, but I ask you can he wallpaper like I can!!! well off to do a few calls glad to see brenda is enjoying the trip will look foreward to hearing all about it bye dorothy

Hi folks just a quick message from a very hot and sunny Tenerfie.I am on my last day and thought I would see what has been happening.Have not had time to read anything but wil catch up tomorrow night.Had a great time, Brenda

morning all,specially to Kathleen who has the dreaded retirement disease which NEVER leaves a body ,once infected ,lol
The length of time i have been retired and my body still after a lifetime of getting up at 6 am,still won't let me sleep in he he,if you can't get out of the habit by now Kathleen ,welcome to the club,it's what you get for a lifetime of diligence in punctuality.
Otherwise known to many members on here as JOIN THE CLUB he he.
I too enjoyed the tennis ,and know now that ,good as he is ,at the moment being young and inexperianced yet ,murray just can't hack it against the top three ,Sampras,Ruddick,and Fedderer ,a couple of more years should see him win at Wimbledon.
Commiserations on the rubbish Sky tv as well,but it is no worse that our Telewest cable vision ,if it wern't for the fact that i use the service for my internet connection at home ,i would tell them to shove it.
Found my recipe folder at last ,and have put it in a safe place so i can't loose it again he he,and a few good marinades for B B q chicken and beef strips has joined the list after this last few weeks.
The weather is terrible and the little grills i do at the minute are being done in the kitchen under the cooker hood,this new little electric grill is just the job for three or four people,and i can B B q in the worst weather ,a bonus so far this year.
My little garden is now fullyplanted ,and the french bean are already setting beans in all this rain,and the parsnips and carrot are shooting away ,bumper crop of root veggies this year i'm thinking.
I am toying with the idea of clearing out under the greenhouse staging and putting up some black plastic covers ,i'm thinking mushrooms ,no extra space taken up and i have plenty of wood to make the boxes to put the spore in ,and it would be an extra crop we could grow..
The little place you went for your meal sounds great Dorothy ,we havn't anything like that around here ,all our places but one are take out ,or delivery only,and the one we had has gone downhill and we won't use it ,they can't even get the chips right .,much less do bacon and eggs ,that sort of thing.
Hope all the repairs were done to your satisfaction Kathleen,i would hold back on some of the money till it was were i you ,it seems to work well in the north,but of course ,not all areas are the same.
Off for a swan about now but i may get back later when i have all the work done
Take care all ,and have a good week.Fred.

Good morning - well it was, now pouring down. Was just about to hang some washing out but then saw the big black clouds so decided to wait for a bit. Hopefully it will not rain all day.
Not sleeping too well lately, got up about 4.30 fed up with not being able to sleep and when you lie awake your brain starts going into overdrive. All those mornings when I had to get up for work and longed to be able to spend just another half hour in bed - and now when I can - I can't if you see what I mean!!
Missed the first set of the match yesterday Dorothy but Andy certainly played well, Roger certainly didn't have an easy win and I agree he could have played better. I wish they would repeat Lark Rise on our TV, I missed a lot of it but enjoyed what I did see. They repeat so many programmes that are rubbish and Sky TV has become a bit of a rip-off, they seem to show the same programmes two days running now and we often completely lose the signal so can only gat a few of the channels.
I hope Brenda has enjoyed her holiday, not sure when she is due back.
Had a visit on Saturday afternoon from my ex sister-in-law and my niece which was very nice. Haven't seen them since August at my brothers funeral, and that was the first time in years. Jackie, my niece, is a lovely girl, she is the youngest of my brothers 4 children. She has twin boys, just teenagers now. I hope to see a bit more of them in the future.

Going to make another cup of tea, it looks to be brightening up a bit and the rain seems to have stopped so will get my washing out.

Hope you all have a nice day
Lov e
Kathleen

hi kathleen it is sunday 5pm my time 10pm your time we are 5hrs behind of england at the moment which my friend anne often forgets and calls me at 5-6 am sometimes, it is a bit mean of that lady to up the price on the appliances some people have a bit of cheek. well the roger match was good to-day because he won but I think that he could have played a little better and andy roddick played very well, it was great that pete sampras flew in even if it was only for 1 day, the sun has appeared all day to-day so maybe we are in for some good weather, I had a good dinner with the children last evening we went ot one their favourite plces, fish and chips for Ian and a french toast combo for laura that includes 3 eggs 2 strips of bacon and two sausages she can pack it away but she is tall and very slim and acive. I had the mushroom ommalete it was good , so no tennis till august when we have some in toronto the rogers cup it is called and then the us open in august , well I shall away and make some dinner ?supper I rented a couple of movies to watch but lark rise to candleford is on at 9p it is the 2nd series that we are now able to watch I quite like it bye for now dorothy