General Chat

Morning all,its a dismal morning here,it was raining but is just grey and miserable now,but hope it stays dry.
Nice to see you back Dorothy,hope it stays ok.
We go away on Tuesday,I have a few things to sort out this weekend,alter some trousers,iron my holiday clothes and colour my hair,seems it needs doing more often these days!!!
Having lunch with afriend today so am getting ready shortly as I have a errand or two to do first.
Be back later or tomorrow,think fred is away for a few days,hope they are having a good time.
Take care ,Brenda

hi brenda hope you are all ready for your holidays nothing much new here we are in for several days of rain, have a new flower basket for the balcony an early birthday present from a friend so I put them out at 6am as it was a nice fine rain I was up early for the andy murray match I did not set the alarm just woke up, I will go and visit isobelle in a couple of weeks for the last week of the french open so we can watch it to-gether, did you find some new sandals, hope fred and liz are having a good time bye for now dorothy

Morning ladies,from a chilly Newcastle upon Tyne. brrrrrrr,everything now up to date since we got back Friday afternoon,as regards the house ,and garden ,so ,it's time to play,lol.
Still havn,t got out to Southport because the weather was naff,and we spent most of the time off park local only but we enjoyed the break just the same.
Hope you get a good holiday Brenda ,and hopefully the weather will be kind to you while you are there.
I am just waiting now ,for a weather window so that i can get out back and fill in the few spaces in the buckets to fill up the run ,of runner beans [pun ,not intended ,but pretty good] he he.
I now have just the two rows of late summer ,and winter cabbage to put out and i'm done yippee ,just peppers to spread out ,and herbs to pot on ,and ,for a change ,my R

Morning all ,its really VERY wet and miserable here, Sorry you did not get to Southport , Fred hope you get there soon.
Glad you enjoyed some tennis Dorothy,did not get the sandals I was looking for so will have to make do with what i have got for now.
Most of the ironing is done and I will pack up this evening so they should not crease to much.early to bed as we need to be up at 4.30 in the morning,
Better get on with things now ,will try and get on line during the week. Take care Love and hugs Brenda

Morning all ,just in from you know where lol,and have done well ,i have now ,just one row of winter cabbage to go out ,all the odd spaces have been filled in,so i am just about there at last.
Yeah Brenda ,Blackpool is a disaster area ,no way to get on to the front for roadworks ,the rows of shops blocked off while they renew the frontage ,and wind blown dust blowing everywhere ,and after just ten minutes we had had enough ,and hopped a bus to Fleetwood ,and sanity ,he he. :-).
Having a nice mix up for dinner today ,Chicken Madras,Lamb Biriyani,saffron rice,Naan breadand home made ,Bombay potato,so it all being to do from scratch ,i had better go and get on with it ,lol, catch you all later ,Fred. :D

hi fred I guess brenda and john should be well away on their holidays nothing much going on here at the moment we have now had 8 days of rain with more to come to-day, but saturday is supposed to be nice it is a holiday week-end this week-end the one where most people come up north so open their cottages , my sister and husband appear to be having a good visit to israel will be home on the 23rd,no tennis on the tele this week but the french open starts next week so I shall enjoy that and hope to go to brampton for the 2nd week to stay with my friend,sorry that blackpool was in such a state so that you could not enjoy the visit there take care bye for now dorothy

Hi Dorothy ,signed on the dotted line yesterday morning to have my roof done ,and they were here within two hours to jetwash the tiles for inspection ,and got to find out that there were between 40 ,and 50 tiles that need changing.
They come back Friday A M to put the new tiles in ,then wash the whole roof with an anti fugicidal wash, and after half an hour ,put the first coat of waterproof covering on ,that replaces the glaze on the tiles and concrete flashings ,and to finish off put a second ,different coating on to seal in the first coat ,and insulate the tiles to keep the frosts from penetrating .
The roofing is then covered for ten years with insurance which better than having a new roof put on at £ 7000,and saves a packet,besides which ,at the end of the ten years ,it will be down to the bairns as i will no longer be here ,lol,all down to them by that time.
Went down to the bank to get the pennies out ,and noticed as i walked up the street with the lass ,a huge column of black smoke hanging over the east of the city,which turned out to be the scrap yard over in Byker [Sheppards] again ,with twelve fire engines called out ,they should start charging that ruddy firm for all the call outs and damage to the environment ,it might make them more careful as to what they are doing in future. i see no reason why the tax payer should be paying for these fires and call outs for the fire brigade to clear up these ongoing messes.while the millionaire bosses get done for free.
Sorry to hear that your weather still isn't too grand Dorothy,surely it can't last much longer.
We were down very close to freezing last night ,but thank goodness i seem to have gotten away with it yet again ,but i have spare plants still in the greenhouse to replace any losses,just in case.
Found some nice looking Jersey Royal potatoes in the market this morning ,and the wife and i brought 2 lbs of them,to go with the tea,liver and onions [smacks lips ] lol :-).
Well ,time to check the other thread to see what's going on,catch you all later.Fred. :D

hi fred well to-day it is going to be lovely so I will appreciate it by going out and doing some shopping a visit to the library and a haircut I was up early about 6-30 and the traffic up to the cottage area's was almost none now about an hour later the cars pulling boats etc is alsmost bumper to bumper on the 400 highway, I shall go out early so the local roads won't be too bad, the repairs to your roof sound quite interesting I had the roof replaced on my house just before I sold it and moved here as a lot of shingles had bown off in a big storm it was gaurented for 25yrs so the folks that bought the house did not have to worry about replacing it. my son returned from a business trip on friday and we firmed up plans to drive me to brampton on the 30th and I will return a week later, I could drive myself with no problem but after the small strokes he fussess about it so it is easier to give in and let him do it, and isobelle's son drives me back I think the 2 sons hers and mine have got to-gether on this. he is making plans for a family dinner out to celebrate my birthday on the 24th and the oldest grandson's on the 26th bryan will be 16 how time flies he is a nice boy about 6ft 2inches tall and still growing , he will be away all summer at camp up graded now to a councillor in training he is looking foreward to it school finishes at the end of june , the french open starts to-morrow for 2 weeks and coverage to-morrow is from 1pm to 6-30 so if it rains I shan't mind I have a routine when watching the tennis I do a lot of walking around the apartment so I get some exercise not just sitting on my you know what for that length of time, you and liz have a good week-end bye for now dorothy

Morning all ,from a veeeeery windy ,wet North East Of England,he he ,saves me having to water my plants today at any rate.
you sound as though you are having a very busy weekend Dorothy ,and you can stop dropping hints,lol [only joking] :-),your email card is on it's way ,hope you like it :D.
Since the roof was jetwashed ,the weather has been really bad here ,howling winds nearly up to gale force,and repeated heavy showers.so the roofing team havn't been back,and i am glad in a way,they were jet washing the roof as the winds started to get up ,and my heart was in my mouth,having worked on roofs most of my life,and watching the lad with the lance fighting to keep his balance ,he finished up there just as i was getting ready to tell him ,enough was enough,and get down fella ,before you come off the hook ladder and kill your self.
The wind and rain are due to last another week ,so i may have to wait to see how it goes for a while yet.
I feel sure our Brenda will enjoy her holiday ,he he ,it will be warmer where she is at any road ,and hopefully a good bit drier than it is here,Black pool and Manchester copping a lot of heavy rain.
We go back in June ,so i will try for your pics then ,he he ,third time is supposed to be lucky,lol.
My replacement tree has arrived ,[nectarine] and boy ,what a difference,i think someone at Bakker got a right telling off after my email ,because the new tree arrived very quickly,and is covered with live bud.with a far better root system ,where as the last one was about non existent.
I brought two new big tubs ,to use to plant in ,a square deep one that has a raised water drainage system in the bottom.
These were designed to use on Patio.s to save water leaking out everywhere,and have a false inner bottom ,to put the shale ,comost mix and plant into.
The spare water is kept in the bottom of the tubs for the tap roots to suck up as they need it,a brilliant peace of working out ,and i really must take a pic of the empty one for Edith ,they could be just what she is looking for,all her stuff being grown on her patio.
They could be of use to our Mary in Oz as well ,she being in a water conservation area,and her having a couple of dwarf trees on her little garden out back.
I chose these ,because i can load them onto my sack barrow at the end of the year and put the tree into the greenhouse until spring and save having to cover it with fleece to protect the growing tips from heavy frost.
We have both grandbairns here this weekend,Ashton ,because her parents are up in Scotland producing a Wedding Video ,they are doing really well now with the new cameras and are in great demand all over the country.,looks like they will be employed full time ,lol, people will always be getting married,even gays,and while they were uncertain as to doing same gender couplings ,i told them to screw their loaves ,a video was a video same sex .or the usual,you can't afford to be piccky these days,can you?.
Upset people and you lose your work,and if churches will now bless these partnerships ,who are they to turn up their noses.
Chris is here as usual because his dad works on a Sunday ,at his new job at Asda,he loves it ,and is the main warehouse forklift driver already and is retraining the other drivers on safety ,his qualifications being more up to date than the others.
have to go now and give the wife a hand with dinner preperation,so i will catch you all later.
Hope all are having a great weekend :D Fred

Greetings - what a lot newsy messages here, haven't popped by for sometime and thought its about time I had a look in. Not much has been happening with us. Over this weekend there was telethon for Christchurch, didn't see much of it on the box but the total taken was exceptionally good. This afternoon been trying to create a word search for Gayle to use at a women's group tomorrow, I think the end result might be acceptable.
Our summer has finally come to an end as winter knocks at the door but we still have high temperatures which is unusual for autumn. The past few days have been wet and the gardens need a good weed but in this weather. Coming up to three in the afternoon must be coffee time.
Take care, John :-)

Hi Everyone,nice to hear from you again John,hope everyone is ok.
We are having some really hot weather here and i mean hot,even John has been in the pool to cool down.Leg ok not as many pains but still far from normal.
Apt great almost pool side.Had some great meals and drinks and now we are just walking to the shop for some bread to make a tuna sandwich later.
Dorthy have a great birthday and visit to your friend.I am sure I sent a email card before I left home .
Fred good news about the tree sounds really good.
and the roof sound great as well.
Not sure if i will get back on line before I am home.
Sp you take care of yourselves
Love Brenda

Morning to all,Including John,nice to hear from you again.and your comments about the coming winter have been noted with interest .
Our spring is lousy ,temperatures still way down ,and we have had sever gales these last two days which have done quite a lot of damage around here ,but i have gotten off lightly,only a few plants damaged ,and luckily i kept a few replacements after planting out.
We are still waiting for the roofers to come back ,but they are no doubt waiting too ,for the weather to improve,they need a dry ,windless day to complete the installation ,by replacing tiles,repointing the chimney,and then applying the two coatings over the whole roof.
We had a call from the grandson Sean last night ,and he told us he was coming up with the wife for a while ,so we will be able to catch up on all the latest news,at last. :-).
I got the leek plants yesterday ,nice ,healthy looking ones, which i picked up after delivering the sons Tomato plants ,and a bag of compost which ,by the way ,gave me a lot of extra room in the greenhouse.
I brought the leeks from the market garden in Howden ,a place run by the disabled community,so ,we use it a lot now ,not only are the plants ,first class ,but we are actively supporting these disabled gardeners :-).
As soon as i tie the brussels to the support cans ,i can get said leeks put in ,and get the greenhouse back again ,he he,40 odd leeks take up quite a bit of space ,lol.
Nice to know you are having a great time Brenda,and enjoy the warmth while you can ,the weather over home is naff ,lol,cold veeeeery windy,and we even had sleet yesterday grrrrrrr ,where is our spring ,never mind the summer.
Have to go ,housework to do ,shopping to do ,and meals to cook ,hey ,i should have stowed away in Brenda's suitcase ,he he. :D Fred.

hi one and all good to see john back hard to believe he is now heading for winter, fred it sounds like the weather in your part of the country is not good your complaint about your necterene tree was handled fast hope this one grows well for you, we are stil hit and miss with the weather quite a lot of rain still but better off than those poor folks in the states, we are in what they call a tornado allay but the last big hit was about 24yrs ago before I moved here in buildings of this size 14 floors if one is in the area you are supposed to go into the stair wells not sure I fancy that !!!. yes brenda I did recieve your card I did send you a thanks, had a quiet day yesterday but lots of cards and phone calls I hope I remembered to thank everyone, will celebrate with the family on the weekend week days are busy for the family what with work and the childrens activities, bryan will be 16 to-morrow, I shall go to brampton on the 30th for a week at isobelle's for the tennis and catching up with friends there take care bye for now dorothy

rain ,rain and more rain where is noah when you need him good morning one and all just heading out too the shops in full rain gear I think this is a bank holiday at home if so hope you all have a good one, I shall be off line till the 6th of june heading down to brampton after the family birthday dinner have not been told which resturant a bit of a surprise for bryan and I so that will be fun, hope brenda and john have had a good holiday and enjoyed some sun, so I will speak toyou all after the 6th take care and stay well bye for now dorothy

Evening all ,here,how very dare you all go and leave me all on my own ,lol.Hope you have a great time Dorothy ,and i hope the weather is kind for you.
We have plenty of rain too ,as we come up on the holiday weekend,so we were lucky to get the roof finished when we did.
We have Sean and wife for the next two weeks and are going to be a tad busy,but it's nice to see them again.
time to get the tea now ,so i will say ,goodbye for now ,
Have a great holiday everyone ,Fred.

Hi Fred,you are not alone i am back from my holidays ,have lots of washing to doand shopping etc,but will be on here daily from now on,Have a nice meal and visit Dorothy ,i did get the thank you email ,but could not get on my emails on holiday ,problems with Virgin,apparently..
Hope your grandsons visit is going well fred,bet you'll be doing lots of great meals.!!!#Have to get to the shops now while the first of the washing is being done,Be back tomorrow,Brenda

Hi Brenda ,nice to see you back ,safe and sound,and minus volcanic dust .
Bet you noticed the difference in the weather when you got back ,lol,been very windy and wet ,on and off since you left.
Glad Dorothy got your e-card ,because ,me having trouble with virgin as well ,i don't think she got mine :-(
We have a full house here today ,what with the grandson here as well as Sean and Marta,but the lad is never any trouble while here ,and gives his dad a break.
Found my grease bands this morning ,plus the other odds and ends i needed to finish off out back. :-)
Time to go now ,and get on with the tea ,so i will catch you tomorrow ,Fred.

Afternoon all.well I certainly have seen the difference in the weather Fred and my poor leg can feel it.
It was doing really well in the sun and the heat ,but this cold and damp has put it back somewhat.
All the holiday washing is done and put away til the next one.! not sure when that will be!
Have been out and about today and was feeling the effect as I got home,so will have to pace myself again.
Had some visitors yesterday,which was very nice,even if unexpected,
my sister came with my neices and brought me a lovelly photo album with photos of the wedding. They are going to send me the discs as well later so I can see the ones they did not print..It was great to see them and the photos are terrific.
Hope you and your visitors mangae to get out and about if the weather lets you fred.
Hope Dorothy is enjoying her visit.
take care ,Brenda

Evening all its been a fairly good day today ,bit chilly at times but dry.Met somes friends in town after going to the bank,had a nice lunch,did not do as much walking as I wanted to do ,as legs where getting painfull,Will have to pace myself. and plan where I want to go when I go again.
Going to the dentist tomorrow morning for a checkups and then taking the car for a new exhaust and tyre,
Depending on how long that takes we might go looking at washers as the one we have now is on its last legs and so noisy!!!
Hope you are enjoying your visits and visitors,
see you tomorrow.

Morning Brenda,hope your visit to the dentist is painless in both ways ,lol ;-),and that you have some luck in your search for a washing machine.
We went down that road last year ,going to Curry's again where we found a combo ,of a washing machine and a tumble drier ,both on offer ,which we snapped up.
Most of our electricals we buy at the same place ,the service ,and the prices ,we found ,second to none,and any service required is fast ,and good.
Took the grandson and wife to Tiddly Bay yesterday to show Marta the sea side,she being from inland in Poland,and have to say ,she spent two hours just looking in rock pools ,and walking on the beach ,before the two of them went into the amusements in the town centre itself.
We stayed on the sea front near the cafe ,and had a roll ,and coffee ,amusements? been there ,done that AND have the tea shirt. ;-).
At last ,there is a break in the cold weather ,so we have the B B Q planned for tomorrow,it being a no go until it warmed up .believe it or not Marta commented that our winter was as cold as Polands ,and that she was cold here ,because now ,at home ,the temperatures are up to around 25 to 28 c ,cor ,i wish lol.what a lousy spring we have had.
People won't believe me when i say ,that as a sprog ,by mid march to april we were out in the sunshine ,shorts and teeshirts on ,and the lawns cracked because the ground was so dry :-0,oh ,how the seasons have changed down the years.
Garden is doing well anyway with a tad of help with the watering cans,and all is looking good.
Hope you are enjoying your break Dorothy ,and hope that things are warming up over there at last.
Catch you all later ,Fred off to Beamish [i hope ] :-)