General Chat

Hi everyone,have nearly got over the electric bill,its actually a new meter Dorothy,only had it put in in April and the company have supposed to have dropped the prices by 9% in the last few months,might be because its an estimate,will have to get John to check the meter ,I can not get down into the cupboard under the stairs where it is.
Waether has changed for the worse, rain again and very heavy this afternoon.
Hope the medicine change works Dorothy,and the graduation goes ok.I used to love Wimbledon but have gone of it all a bit these days.Mind you the tenneis courts in the local park are very busy at this time of the year!
Not sure when I will be back as they have blocked us using our emails at work,and I am on a 12.30 to 8pm tomorrow,usually to tired to do anything when I get home.Wont be able to come on before I go as we have the plumber in doing the bathroom and its so nosiy.
Take care ,Brenda

goodmorning sorry about the electric bill brenda the cost is high over here especially in the winter as the building has electric heating though when I lived in my last house I had them come and check the meter as it was old and they found the fault was in the meter it was just running wild and my the did the cost go down when they put a new metor in I don't remember how they do it at home but if you have a similar system get them to come and check it. it is 70 at 9am this morning a little humid and rain in the forecast. next week is wimbledon I shall be on cloud nine. the oldest grandson bryan is on a school trip to quebec for 4 days and next week on the 24th is graduation from public school on to high school in sept. they have 75 students graduating so they each only get 4 tickets so at the moment it is mom and dad and me and a toss up between grandpa arthur or lindys mom grandma lorraine, but she has another grandaughter graduating on the same night in bolton and that is nearer to where she lives(kitchner) so we shall see what happens, I found the album of andrews school life from grade 1 to 8 so I will take it over for bryan to see, I am going to have to pop over and see the family doc one of these days as I am having a few episodes of angina I think that the meds need a bit of a change it only happens if I am walking and it is a bit breezy more frustrating than anything else I see on the other site that fred goes on that liz has had a death in her family my sympathies go out to the both of them maybe he will update us soon bye for now dorothy

Had a great time out with our freinds today,lovely weather,great company ,great food.
Came home to see if we could find them a holiday with us at about the same price I have looked all over the internet and so has she to no avail.!!!
Also had a bit of a shock when I opened the post ,the electric bill was frightening!! have told John and David all TV are turned off at the mains.So is the stereo etc.I am at a loss to see how it is so high ,!!
So a great day went a bit pear shape.!!
Have to get some tidying up done now as I did not get any done with going out.
Brenda

Well ,we have had some lovelly sunny weather and on Sunday night the thunderstorms came,Monday was lovelly again then went off a bit in the evening ,with thunder but no rain.!!
Going out to lunch with some friends today,not been out with them for months ,so that should be good.
Booked to go to tenerife on 30th of this month Dorothy,just a week this time but looking forward to it.Hoping to go to Bury on Saturday ,see what bargains I can get.
Glad you had a good weekendwith your friend.
Hope you are feeling better soon Sylvia .
Have made the banana bread fred,very good ,but mine was a bit dry ,will put more milk in next time.
Take care ,Brenda

hi everyon it is monday about 3pm my time well I had a good weekend with my friend we went to the casino but did not win the big jackpot!!!!! then I took her shopping some good sales on at the moment in sunday morning anne phoned and kept us up to date re the murray blake match as it does not cost her to phone me I put her on speaker phone and we listened to the match that way how great that andy won the first british in 70yrs , I drove her home yesterday pm and stayed over and arrived back about 2pm to-day the weather has been great so it was a lovely drive back I got caught up on all the news on line, sylvia Ihope that you feel better soon, fred sorry the sun disappeared and brenda have you booked your holiday if so what place are you going to well I should go and do a few chores bye for now dorothy

Hi all,
I've not been on much lately because I have just been too tired and fall asleep everywhere - even at the computer.
Apparently I need B1 injections. I am now having these 3 times a week and they are increasing my thyroid dosage. I have had thyroid tablets for 30 years now and always the same dosage, but it seems I need a higher dosage now. I have also that rotten cystitis returned. Yes, I really am poorly at the moment.
As soon as I feel well enough we are going to spend a few days in Rotterdam as this is where Johan comes from and he has nephews and nieces there as well as youngest sister. Johan's youngest sister and my niece came to visit us on Saturday last and although I was dead tired I did enjoy their company.
Will try and keep in touch
Sylvia xxx

Afternoon all,and what a change today,it looked so promising in Newcastle O T this morning sunny warm ,and lovely to behold ,and on went the sun cream ,on the knees and other bits and pieces.but around three this pm ,the heavens opened and we are getting a right pasting ,grrrrrr ,one B B Q by the by yet again.
Good luck with the mint Kathleen ,but unless you keep adding feeder like baby bio ,mint very quickly becomes pot bound and i gave up on the stuff long ago,growing other herbs in buckets instead which is tons easier.
My Sage ,rosemary and oniongrass all grow mixed together in one corner of the plot ,and i am never short of herbs for my cooking.Forty odd years since i was in the Hammersmith region last ,so i need to get onto the net to view the bridge ,but Barnes i remember a little because it was the seat of my grandads family him being a Barnes after all ,and they were all close together and i played in the areas as a kid ,Twickingham ,Isleworth ,Brentford,Bushy park ,many happy memories of a time long ago he he,you have done it now lady .lol. i will dream of those lost days tonight ,and will feel a little sad when i wake up,but we kids were so lucky just after the war ,things still on ration but a freedom and childhood not found in these days with so much crime and weirdo's floating around.
Did a lovely curry with homemade pilau rice for dinner with chicken done in a Madras sauce again ,home made which means what ever i do for the tea is going to be drab.
Have to go and get on with it now anyway ,Hissy is beside my chair lookingat me with those eyes ,as if to say ,ooooye,never mind the computer ,i wants my tea purrrrr.Fred.
,

Good morning all and a lovely sunny, warm morning it is.

Had a lovely couple of days away, met up with my sister-in-law on Tuesday and that was really good. We visited a pick-your-own farm and brought home some broad beans and strawberries - they are delicious. Also some of the many garden centres and nurseries, managed to get a couple of plants I wanted, rosemary and lemon balm also a different mint which I hope will grow better than the two kinds I already have. Don't know why they don't seem to grow too well, I have them in big pots but I bet if I put them into the garden they would take over!!!

Also visited Wetlands at Barnes, amazing place and will definitely be visiting again soon - this time with a camera and notebook. So much to see but too much to take in at one visit. The black bamboo was amazing and it was good to see how so many of the fences and little gates were made from the willow and bamboo - I want some!!

Will have to come back later on to tell you more. Fred you will know where I stayed if you know Hammersmith. Right by the bridge overlooking the Lower Mall. All changed quite a lot now from the 40's and 50's. No time to write more just now but will come back this evening.

Hope you all have a great day
Love
Kathleen

Evening all,we have had a lovelly day weatherwise.I went shopping for a few new things for my holiday,but did not have much luck .thought I would be lucky in the sales but they either did not have my size or the colour I wanted !!
Working tomorrow so hope its not too warm or we will be roasting in there.
Hope you find something more out Dorothy from the lasy who has been in touch.I do know the restaurant you mentioned,Always very busy there,even on none market days.
Take it easy this weekend Fred you do dnot seem to have many free weekends.
Be back Sunday,Take care ,Brenda

Coooooeeee,and good morning to one and all from Newcastle O T where ,believe it or not ,the sun is out at last. lol.
The garden is looking good now ,and nearlly all my brassica are ready to go out into the buckets soi think it's gonna be a busy weekend what with one thing and another.
The van is going to be away to the midlands ,so i will be able to reach the front lawn without having to lift the mower over the trailers towbar [bliss] and i will be able to get the drive tidied up a little ,and weed treated.
With no grandsonthis weekend we will be able to relax for the two days ,with no running around after him ,so it looks like a B B Q complete with jackets for us even if the weather goes pear shaped i can use the table parasol to keep out of the wet,sooooo ,anyone coming ,get your orders in now he he.
Hope everyone enjoys the coming weekend ,catch you all later.Fred

goodmorning from a warmer barrie and I do believe the sun is shining had a bit of news from someone I had put a message out for info on my birth mothers brother who was believed to be in canada and got a reply from a lady who had found a listing on a ship of a john magnuson and also on the passenger list was a linus magnuson as linus was the name of my birth mothers father it looks like it is them jut a bit more to add to the story I will see where that leads john was supposed to have a daughter living in toronto she would be about 60-70 I would guess. I will see what other info this lady can come up with. hope you all have a good week-end and good weather anne called yesterday and said that it had been nice in the am , she is being taken out next tuesday for dinner by her two daughters it would have been her husbands 80th birthday he was a lot older than anne and she has been a widow for about 15yrs now I asked her if she was going to that chocolate resturant brenda you will know what I mean by that but it is some italian resturant some where between bury whitefield or ramsbottom that covers quite a bit does it not bye for now dorothy

Morning all.its a lovelly looking day again today but the forcast is rain later !!
Nevermind just looking at sunshine is nice these days.
Am waiting for some visitors to call ,the parents of my friend in Austalia,they are bringing some photos for me.
Should also have my friends coming to pick up their cat we have been looking after her while they were away.
Then on work at 5pm til 8pm not a nice shift but it is short and I know I am working with a lady I like and get on with.
See you all tomorrow.Take care.Brenda

Hi all,
Yes Kathleen, what memories we Londoners have of the war years. I used to go down to the allotments near us and talk to the troops coming home after the war. I remember one of the soldiers giving me a condom, and being naive - just a schoolgirl - didn't know what all the soldiers were laughing at. They said "blow it up". What innocent days they were. These days children grow up much quicker.
I have a busy week this week. Yesterday had my help in the house and physiotherapy and today a pedicure, plus shopping. Tomorrow off to
Eindhoven with our two grandchildren for their mother's birthday. Yes, my eldest daughter will be 51 tomorrow. I expect my granddaughter will drive us home - will want to drive us there as well if she can persuade grandpa to let her.
Thursday I have physiotherapy again and Friday hairdresser, doctor to discuss the result of my last blood tests etc. and the engineers are coming to connect our glass fibre cable for television/computer etc. Now my sister in law in Rotterdam has just phoned and asked whether she can come on Saturday with my niece. I had preferred Sunday but have said yes. now to plan what I can do easily for dinner on Saturday, as well as baking a cake or tart. Yes, even when you are retired life can be busy.
Sylvia xxx

hi well it is still raining but it is warm 18 degree's hope you all are well nothing much new at the moment going on friday to brampton to pick up a friend and she will stay with me till sunday I will take her home then and stay over till monday so that will be fun. finally recieved martina coles the book the business from the library brenda I am sure it has been out for a while in england a good read but a bit on the raw side but then most of her books are quite frank but a good story line may go soon for some plants for the balcony it is starting to be warmer at nights I think the risk of frost is finnaly gone bye for now dorothy

hello everyone,its looking really nice again outside ,but its deceptive and cold.!!!
Just finished my lunch so have a few minutes to send this message.
Hope you are all ok and the weather in your part of the world is doing what you want it to,
Might get back later if not see you tomorrow.
take care ,Brenda

Morning all ,and a special hello to Kathleen who has bought back a load of memories to me ,bless her.
I can remember time in the forces when me and my mates had the same sort of feelings as those troops who were due to go across the channel,in the early fourties.
With me and the mates though it was the Cuban missile crisis and i remember well the feelings of apprehension and worry when all leave was cancelled and we were confined to camp on red alert, of course nothing came of it and it blew over ,but to us at the time ,we wern't to know that .
Talking about the time you are going to spend at the flat you lucky lass brings back fonder memories of visiting my beloved grandad in Twickenham in the 1950s trips to bushey park ,the regattas ,hampton court maze and yes ,the Thames which i saw every time i went to the allotment hard to the river with my grandad ,there was even one of those old fashioned water pumps with the side handle for drawing water straight from mother Thames.
They were happy times with my family and sister,i am one of the lucky ones ,a country born lad ,but with a lot of London connections down through the years with rellies seemingly on every street corner from Isleworth ,through to hammersmith [wonder what happened to them all].
We are still in the grip of wet and cool weather which won't please the eldest son,he is away to the car racing this coming weekend ,and is taking the trailer so that they don't have to find digs.
I have to go to his house this afternoon and show him how to change the trailing arms on the rear end of his Pergeot Diesel because they are badly worn and cannot be trusted to tow until they are replaced,but i have made one stipulation he has to pull me out from under the car when i am done lol.
Have a job to do now ,the price for my getting home made French Onion Soup for tea yesterday,complete with slices of french stick and toasted cheese on top the only two things of any worth to come out of France [you listening Pierre?] he he ,a cousin of mine who i tease a lot ,but in truth is a very nice person ,with a lovely family, lol,hey ,you should hear what he calls me when we start he he.
To get back to the plot ,my job is to go to the kitchen and grate half a ton of carrots [you know what i mean] lol ,so that the missus can do my carrot cake ,so, i will be back later,Fred.

Morning all,Dorothy glad you enjoyed the tennis ,but sorry you are not feeling too great ,hope you get it sorted out,also sorry Dorothy,but you did not pinch the cold weather at all we are simply sharing it!! Its dry but cold at the moment but could rain later.Was up all saturday night as I could not sleep ,so was useless yesterday,went to have a sleep inthe afternoon and still went to bed at 10.30 pm and slept till 7am so did not do too bad.
On work at 1pm only till 5pm ,but have a couple of errands to do that I did not do yesterday.
Hope you have a good visit to your sister Kathleen.
Fred ,going tohave a ago at the banana bread later ,was going to do it yesterday ,but had to have a sleep instead.
More problems withthe pc ,think its the fan as we get a droning noise when it is turned on ,also when its beenon a while ,so its back to short burst .
Take care .Brenda

hi well what a morning roger won the french open I was just so pleased, well fred along with pinching your good weather I have gone one step further and pinched your cold weather it is cold and rainy to-day and also for the next three days they say, some of my friends and I have been stock piling some staples as the price of stuff in the stores seems to go up every week, kathleen hope you enjoy your days away how lovely to stay in a flat on the thames oh how I wish the budget would allow for a trip home this year oh well maybe next year well the next couple of weeks will be boring till the next tennis at wimbledon sp I will think of something to do bye for now dorothy

Good morning all, a combination of sun and showers here, not as cold as yesterday.

Yesterday - D-Day!! How well I remember the days leading up to the long awaited invasion of Normandy. There was a sort of weird atmosphere - of hope and fear. It was obvious that something was about to happen with all the troop movements and leave being cancelled, the young men we were used to seeing at the local dancehall suddenly not there. With hindsight I suppose it was a "make or break time". Then the newsreels at the cinemas were showing all the pictures of the landings on the beaches, the first ones were greeted by applause from the audiences - but later it was much quieter when we could see what a high price was being paid and we didn't see the worst of it.
There was a group of young soldiers my cousin and I used to meet up with regularly at Hammersmith Palais, they were suddenly not there any more - and we never saw them again. One young man came back so shell-shocked that he could not hold a cup of tea, he was just 21.
The price of our freedom did not come cheap and leaves us a debt we can never repay - we must make sure that it is not forgotten.
Getting older seems to bring back the past too vividly for comfort at times.

Hope the weather cheers up a bit soon, they promised us a long hot summer - again - they've said that for the past couple of years!!!

My g.daughter is of to Greece for a week - she hopes for sun and relaxation. They are a group of 9 - fortunately all seem to be fairly sensible although they will probably make a lot of noise - why do young people have to be so LOUD!!

I am off to stay with my sister for a couple of days, meeting up with our sister-in-law and hopefully visiting a "pick-your-own" farm on Tuesday.
Looking forward to it. My sister lives in a flat overlooking the Thames - I love it, the river is so busy with all the boats - especially the rowers and all the birds especially the pairs of swans. They seem to have a routine visiting first one bank and then the other downstream, then they come back up and stay for a while before making their way, very leisurely, back to wherever it is they stay. The ducks (so many different kinds) with sometimes ducklings in tow - they can be so funny at times.

Must be off to get ready, have left all the meals ready for my two sons who live here so just have to get my things together and then I will be off.

Catch up with you on Wednesday - take care all of you.

Love
Kathleen

Good morning all ,so,here we are on Sunday ,Dorothy standing accused of nicking Brenda's and Freds warm weather ,disgusting i calls it he he.
Well Dorothy for your information it hasn't got any better here exepting in the north east at least ,it is pretty windy.
I picked up the other big box yesterday from the sons and got it prepared and planted in the evening so that's an extra crop for the autumn ,winter every little bit helps,seeing that the world is in the grip of a wheat and rice shortage with the failed crops in oz, india and china i am going to need the extra stuff from the garden lol
What a pity i can't grow rice of my own ,but i will go out and buy two big bags ,which will last us two a long time.
The way the weather is going all round the world we will soon be back to a war footing with people having to stock up on foodstuffs ,just in case we run out .
We did have a stroke of luck shopping yesterday,we found a shop that had just had a delivery of Westlers hambuggers [lol] in tins that we havn't been able to get for months ,needless to say ,there are now six tins in stock,they are so handy to have in case we come in tired from some jaunt ,and can't be bothered to do a proper meal.open the tin ,sling the buggers in the frying pan,turn a couple of times ,slice four buns ,and there's the tea ,simple[ compere the meercat dot com ] he he.
Dosn't look as though i will get into the garden today ,so ,i may well do a little research to wile away the time.
Catch you later peeps ,have a good day. Fred.