General Chat

Hi everyone
Queen's Birthday in New Zealand is the beginning of June and it will be one to remember as Craig and Gemma announced their engagement, <3 they want to get married at the Army late Spring or early Summer. <3 Someone said to Craig that they would have to teach the minister sign language with them both being deaf. Craig said that wouldn't be a problem as a friend would do the signing for Gemma.:-D
The past week was my 63rd birthday and our 38th wedding anniversary. Its been a month of celebrations.:-)
A week or so along Gayle was told she has Parkinson Disease, for the past year there was a tremor in her hand which has slowly got worse. I had read about tremors but didn't want to alarm her. This on top of dialysis means more medication. :-0
Added to this I have tinnitus in one ear which is most annoying the audiologist said that a hearing aid wouldn't help and a referral to ear, nose and throat specialist has been made. Goodness know when that will happen as the hospital tends to bump people back to their GPs and os its of a matter of wait and see.:-0
Was looking back and note my last visit was 23 May so I better get my act together and pop back on a regular basis. Cheers John

Morning John,Sounds as though you are having a bit of a rough time mate,and to cap it all ,you have Tinnitus in one ear ,snap,but i think you will find that once you have it ,unless it is caused by wax ,there is nothing to be done,it's a case of grin and bear it,luckily ,i am so used to the singing now ,that i can shut it out,which is as well ,i have heard of people driven round the twist by it.
Morning to our Brenda as well ,and yes ,Camomile tea is naturally caffine free ,which is why it is so good for relaxing you for a good snooze,i have mine with a sweetener ,but no milk ,and it works very well for me.
Goood news from the hospital ,yippee,no change from last year at all ,and still no eye damage ,long may it last.
My eyes went back to normal after the drops in time for me to take my grand daughter to her Prom at the Marriot Hotel in Gateshead last evening.and wasn't i the proud grandad to escort her to the Hotel door ,lol.
Where does the time go ,years of grand bairns has suddenly gone ,revealing a beutiful young lady ,lol,i can see a few lads landing up with broken hearts ,before she settles on her soul mate ,what a stunner she has turned out to be .A good head on her young shoulders too ,settling for staying on at school in the 6th form ,studying for a teachers degree,brains ,and looks ,something her grandad never achieved .
She was at the hospital yesterday for the results of the tests she went through to find out why she was ill after eating certain foods,and was a little down after finding out that she had the disease that a lot of people dread.
She will have to face the future knowing that she has to follow a strict ,gluten free diet,as well as there being other things she can't eat,but it isn't the end of the world,as they are now finding more and more substitutes for things she can't have..No normal bread ,though some bakeries do a special loaf that she can have,and their is flour that she can use with no wheat in.
With her going on this course of tuition later in the year ,she can't go on holiday with the rest of the family to Spain ,so i have told her she can go to Fleetwood this next week with us ,and again ,go with us to Berwick on the long weekend when the schools shut,not a lot ,but at leaswt she will have a few days to relax in.
The so called mini heat wave ,extolled on the telle ,has gone tits up i see ,grrrrrrr :-S we awoke this morning needing to put the heating on yet again ,and it piddling down outside ,summer ,huh,more chance of getting one in the upstairs freezer :-P.
Hope you are still enjoying the tennis Dorothy ,we are still in with a chance with mr Murray,who is still hanging in there ,and we have another lad coming on who will take over from Murray within three years or so judging by the way he is coming on.and ditto with a couple of lasses who are coming along nicely.
What a pity us brit's can't get a decent cricket team together and stuff the Aussies ,or ditto with the rugby and stuff the Kiwis ,he he :-\ ,but at least we are out there ,at last,lol
Time to go troops ,dinner is nearly ready ,chicken and veggie pie today,with boiled potatoes and steamed Asparagus ,another three weeks and we will have our own calabrese and runner/climbing french/and broad beans ,smashing .
We have at last fruits on the cucumber ,tomato's and courgettes as well,things are indeed looking up :-).
Catch you later peoples ,have a grand weekend. :-D, Fred.

Morning all,Well its dry at least outside at the moment,need to get my washing out to dry ,so hope it stays dry if only to do that!!!
Hi John good to see you,please just come on when ever you can its always good to hear from you. I also have tinnitus ,mainly in my right ear but now and again its in both ,usually when I am really tired or wound up about something.You do get used to it and find your own way of "switching it off" so to speak,but it does not go away all together,back ground noise can help.Sorry to hear about Gayle,she is in the wars,hope she does not have to have too much medication.I am so pleased about your sons forthcoming wedding,i wish them both much love and happiness, My sister is coming to NZ in November for 3 weeks holidays,they were being based in Christchurch but due to the earthquakes have been advised to try somewhere else ,they have not said wher it will be yet ,cannot be to far away from there as they have a tour plan based on Christchurch.
Guess where I was yesterday Dorothy and Fred???no prizes mind you
It was fairly grey but dry so John and I went to Bury for a walk round the market.(YIPPIE).managed most of the places i usually like to see,but as it got busier it was a bit awkward,people rushing round etc and my legs started to ache.Had a sit down on a bench for a minute or two until the pain subsided and then decided to have a coffee as it was also spitting a bit by then.Had a coffe and a chat with some friends we bumped into and then came home after walking througth the indoor market.
The rain really started to come down as we left the carpark but I was not bothered by then.
Will have ago again when the weather permits.
Need to get on now going down to my brothers later and was going to see a friend on the way back,but have found out its her Sunday to work so will have to go another time.
Take care everyone and enjoy the weekend. :-)

Morning all,Well its dry at least outside at the moment,need to get my washing out to dry ,so hope it stays dry if only to do that!!!
Hi John good to see you,please just come on when ever you can its always good to hear from you. I also have tinnitus ,mainly in my right ear but now and again its in both ,usually when I am really tired or wound up about something.You do get used to it and find your own way of "switching it off" so to speak,but it does not go away all together,back ground noise can help.Sorry to hear about Gayle,she is in the wars,hope she does not have to have too much medication.I am so pleased about your sons forthcoming wedding,i wish them both much love and happiness, My sister is coming to NZ in November for 3 weeks holidays,they were being based in Christchurch but due to the earthquakes have been advised to try somewhere else ,they have not said wher it will be yet ,cannot be to far away from there as they have a tour plan based on Christchurch.
Guess where I was yesterday Dorothy and Fred???no prizes mind you
It was fairly grey but dry so John and I went to Bury for a walk round the market.(YIPPIE).managed most of the places i usually like to see,but as it got busier it was a bit awkward,people rushing round etc and my legs started to ache.Had a sit down on a bench for a minute or two until the pain subsided and then decided to have a coffee as it was also spitting a bit by then.Had a coffe and a chat with some friends we bumped into and then came home after walking througth the indoor market.
The rain really started to come down as we left the carpark but I was not bothered by then.
Will have ago again when the weather permits.
Need to get on now going down to my brothers later and was going to see a friend on the way back,but have found out its her Sunday to work so will have to go another time.
Take care everyone and enjoy the weekend. :-)

Afternoon everyone,here for a few minutes as i update my Toshiba laptop .the last to update before i pack this evening,i always find it easier to do while on broadband ,instead of waiting until i get down to Fleetwood and do it on the dongle,a bit faster that way.
Glad you made it to Bury Brenda ,sounds as if it went well,considering ,told you ,to take your time and go with the flow ,lol,you are indeed getting there.
As you say too ,a much better day ,and hopefully a couple of days down there will be dry and sunny[crosses fingers ,and toes] for good luck.
\time to go and get the packing done ,and get the cat's litter tray cleaned out for tomorrow,we already have her food dispenser and water feeder down in the kitchen ready to fill up.
Might look in later this evening if i get a few minutes.
Take care everyone ,Fred,. :-)

goodmorning I have just had a good read of the mesages I have missed first john glad to see you back and congratulations on theup coming wedding I may have mentioned before that my neice is deaf also her husband they are in their 40's now but married using sign langauge and have raise 3 boys who are not hearing impaired and they are all policemen in different branches of the law being deaf never slowed them down and both have good jobs, sorry to hear that gayle is facing more in health perhaps the new meds will help, I seem to have missed several days of renda and freds new, fred I bet you where a pround grandad you grand daughter sounds like a special young lady the diet she will have to be on does sound like a challange but over here you can manage it quite well the stores do cater too it, and the tennis player I don't like novak is on the same diet for his allergies and ashma and claims that is why he has played so well this year, and I see she wants to be a teacher good on her, nice of you to take her on holidays I hope that you and liz have a great time in fleetwood(where I learned to swim in the public pool years ago) we have had a lot of wet weather this week but it is supposed to be great this week,may go out for dinner this evening with the family nothing firmed up as yet , as I write this they will be at church and then packing up for bryan's 2months at camp, I am not sure what to do about going with them to camp to-morrow as it is manic monday at wimbledon to-morrow really torn about what I shall choose to do , brenda glad you and john had a good time at the market of course when I read that I get my book out on bury and look at the old and new phot's of the market and remember so much about it. fred's idea about the tea sounds like a plan to help you sleep I find as one gets older you don't sleep as much but feel that you should on the nights I have a hard time I get up and read and that helps staying in bed seems to make it harder to go back to sleep, well that is it for me going to do a bit of house work as I won't get much done this coming week, fred I do hope that murray makes it this time but you just never know with him and theyoung english girl shows a lot of promise take care all of you bye for now dorothy

goodmorning I have just had a good read of the mesages I have missed first john glad to see you back and congratulations on theup coming wedding I may have mentioned before that my neice is deaf also her husband they are in their 40's now but married using sign langauge and have raise 3 boys who are not hearing impaired and they are all policemen in different branches of the law being deaf never slowed them down and both have good jobs, sorry to hear that gayle is facing more in health perhaps the new meds will help, I seem to have missed several days of renda and freds new, fred I bet you where a pround grandad you grand daughter sounds like a special young lady the diet she will have to be on does sound like a challange but over here you can manage it quite well the stores do cater too it, and the tennis player I don't like novak is on the same diet for his allergies and ashma and claims that is why he has played so well this year, and I see she wants to be a teacher good on her, nice of you to take her on holidays I hope that you and liz have a great time in fleetwood(where I learned to swim in the public pool years ago) we have had a lot of wet weather this week but it is supposed to be great this week,may go out for dinner this evening with the family nothing firmed up as yet , as I write this they will be at church and then packing up for bryan's 2months at camp, I am not sure what to do about going with them to camp to-morrow as it is manic monday at wimbledon to-morrow really torn about what I shall choose to do , brenda glad you and john had a good time at the market of course when I read that I get my book out on bury and look at the old and new phot's of the market and remember so much about it. fred's idea about the tea sounds like a plan to help you sleep I find as one gets older you don't sleep as much but feel that you should on the nights I have a hard time I get up and read and that helps staying in bed seems to make it harder to go back to sleep, well that is it for me going to do a bit of house work as I won't get much done this coming week, fred I do hope that murray makes it this time but you just never know with him and theyoung english girl shows a lot of promise take care all of you bye for now dorothy

Morning all.its a really beautiful day,here today ,have been up for over an hour already,have one lot of washing on the line and another in the Machine,.Going to the doc for blood tests at 9.20am,just a regular one should have had it a couple of months ago.
Glad you are all ready for Fleetwood Fred just have a good time.
Hope you enjoy what ever you decide to do today Dorothy,Have just read Neil Whites new book its good, Its out in the supermarkets at less than £4,00.!!! So perhaps your friend can get it and send it to you,I would send mine but I am sharing it with a couple of friends.and one takes ages to read books,she will be getting it last!!.
Better get on as I do not want to be rushing about..
Already thinking about going to Bury again,might go on Friday for an hour,I am going to Whitefield anyway to see to my sisters dog as she is out all day at the funeral of her husbands nephew,who died in a car crash last weekend Will have to see how the weather is.!!!
See you all soon,Take care Brenda xxx.

Morning all.its a really beautiful day,here today ,have been up for over an hour already,have one lot of washing on the line and another in the Machine,.Going to the doc for blood tests at 9.20am,just a regular one should have had it a couple of months ago.
Glad you are all ready for Fleetwood Fred just have a good time.
Hope you enjoy what ever you decide to do today Dorothy,Have just read Neil Whites new book its good, Its out in the supermarkets at less than £4,00.!!! So perhaps your friend can get it and send it to you,I would send mine but I am sharing it with a couple of friends.and one takes ages to read books,she will be getting it last!!.
Better get on as I do not want to be rushing about..
Already thinking about going to Bury again,might go on Friday for an hour,I am going to Whitefield anyway to see to my sisters dog as she is out all day at the funeral of her husbands nephew,who died in a car crash last weekend Will have to see how the weather is.!!!
See you all soon,Take care Brenda xxx.

goodmorning from a lovely day in barrie the sun is shining and not too hot yes brenda ann'e daughter miled neil's book to me yesterday she did not get it on amazon but on another site that was cheaper so I am looking foreward to reading it, anne informed me that the postage was more than the cost of the book I wish neil would get the permission to have it sold in canada, well I did stay home yesterday and the tennis was great though the yanks did not think so with the william sisters getting beat. I am not sure what is going on with genes' double messages for days now, andrew phoned me last night to say bryan got to camp ok after his history exam the family had a good drive up to huntsville and he settled in well, his 2 cousins (the girls ) arrived as well they have a week of extra training till the first campers arrive he could very well get assigned kitchen duty as a new councillor in training and it can get get very hot but can cool off in the lake, I allready miss him he is a good lad and very kind he reminds me so much of his dad at the same age I must say only being blessed with one child the 3 grandkids are such a joy but again I think most grandparents feel that way, andrew who does not say much about his feelings said mom 2months is a long time I can't wait for his first 24hr leave I shall go and pick him up and bring him home for a few hours so much for the strong and silient image. it is a bank holiday this week-end so lindy may drive to ottawa about a five hour drive from here to see her sister Ian and laura may or may not go andrew says he has too much work to get done , when they say companys expect 24/7 7 days a week they do mean it but he is lucky that he can do a lot of work at home and even as a child he always liked to get ahead with things, of course with the differant time zones in this country that does nothelp, well fred are you all packed and ready for fleetwood I hope that you have a great time and good weather take care bye for now dorothy

Afternoon all,from Sunny,balmy, Fleetwood ,yeeeeees, the sun does ccome out to play sometimes :-D.
We have already been in to Cleveleys where we tracked down a few food items that are okay for Jordan to eat,bread,sauces,bicckies ,andthe like which she can eat in safety.
There is even a butcher that has made her 6 burgers with just meat ,pure beef with no additives ,and just a hint of salt,and herbs,nothing that she cannot have ,brilliant, so ,after finding her safe bread ,pittas,and bread buns ,the B B Q for tomorrow is looking good.
Their is one butcher we will check on tomorrow who caters for Ceoliacs ,and does all meat products and uses bread from the gluten,wheat ,barley free sort ,so we know we can get the sausages from there ,along with other safe products ,so ,no doubt we will call in there in future.
The pies in the shop where i brought the last ones in April ,are still spot on ,so Wednesday i will buy a tenners worth ,freeze them,and put them in a freezer bag to take home ,lol,tastier than the pies up home ,and 80% cheaper ;-).
Going to open my first lager now ,sit outside the van at the patio table and chill.
Catch you all later Fred. :-D

Morning all,well we have sunshine again today ,still a bit on the cool side,but still better than grey and miserable.
Glad you are both getting some good weather.hope it lasts a while.
Keep enjoying the tennis Dorothy,and I am sure you will enjoy Neils book.,I posted a birthday card to my friend in Australia at weekend it cost £1.68 and it was not a nig heavy card ,so can understand about the postage on the book.
Well done Fred on tracking down the foodstuffs for your grandaughter,she is a lucky girl.
Have a couple of errands this morning .then going up to help some friends move some small items of furniture and bags of stuff to their new home,they actually move tomorrow,but there are a few things that are not going in the removal van ,mainly becuase they would have needed a bigger van an dthe cost was high!!.
Just looked ouside and its gone grey in a matter of minutes!!! hope it is not going to rain I have got washing out!!
Take care
brenda

goodevening after a dull day it is a lovely evening if I had a bottle of white wine I would sit out and watch the sunset shades of freds can of lager but I don't have any so a cup of coffe will have to do, fred glad the sun is shining in fleetwood and that you have been able to find some good food supplies for you grand daughter that is great, this week ie. yesterday I pooped out to the shops as one of the food chains had a ot of good buys so I stocked on on a variety of things for the freezer ,baked beans , jam, and salad dressing sell by dates good till august 2012, both isobelle and I have been doing this for a few weeks as prices appear to be going up and up and by keeping a good eye on things the sale prices are good ones, I frozen several packs of blueberries and rasberries as well, brenda take it easy helping your friends you do not want to put your back out, it was a sad day at tennis with roger out but a good day for andy I do hope that he can beat nadal on friday the phone lines between brampton and bury were quite busy during both matches we are a crazy bunch of fans,well to-morrow the young royals arrive in ottawa I hope that they enjoy the visit . well time to go and make the coffe take a book out and sit on the balcony for a while it is not 8-30pm as yet and still very nice bye for now dorothy

Evening all,we have had a bit of a mixed day today weatherwise,started a bit grey and then brightened up a lot, at the moment it is sunny but it is not as warm has it been.
Hope you enjoyed the sunset and your coffe Dorothy,I have managed to sit outside and have a read and a cup of tea or coffee quite a few times in the last few weeks its been really good to do that.I used to enjoy sitting on the swing lounger in my friends garden when the weather allowed,this is the friend who has just moved and the garden is not as big ,she has taken the lounger but isn;t sure if she can keep it.
They would not let me do a lot whilst "helping them" today.I unwrapped the glasses i wrapped yesterday and I helped to zip the cushions back on to the sofa and armchairs..I also helped to brew up once ,well I say brew nore like put the milk in the tea and sugar when needed.
The removal people had all sorts of helpful things with them ,that saved time and tempers!! hope they enjoy their first night in their new home.
I was sorry to see Roger go yesterday ,but pleased about Mr Murry!!,Was surprised about both the Williams sisters going out.
Have a busy day shopping tomorrow going to Radcliffe to Dunelm Mill to see if they have any throws for the sofas,I got my old ones from there,so hope they have something similar.On the way back I have to call at my sisters house in Whitefield and letthe dog out into the yard,my sister and her husband are at the funeral of his nephew who died two weeks ago in a car crash.They would have asked a neighbour buthe is on holiday and the dog does not always behave with some people.He is ok with me and
I only have to let him out and then give him a drink.I can also do my shopping at the morrisons store near her.
Hope Fred is enjoying his break in Fleetwood,he should have been having some good weather.
See you all tomorrow,brenda

Evening all,we have had another great day weather wise ,bit slow tos tart with ,but the sun certainly made up for that this afternoon.Driving back fromthe supermarket was really warm work.My sisters dog was very good when I called to let him out the back,I had a cup of tea and played with him a while.
Had a nice surprise when I got home,David was on his day of and had baked a cake!!! it is a fruity ginger cake but we cannot eat it yet it has to mature!!
Not sure what we are doing for the weekend ,Hope Fred has agood journey home and had a good stay in Fleetwood.
Sorry Andy did not get to the final Dorothy,and enjoy the finals over the weekend.
Enjoy what everyou all do and take care ,Brenda

Evening all,we have had another great day weather wise ,bit slow tos tart with ,but the sun certainly made up for that this afternoon.Driving back fromthe supermarket was really warm work.My sisters dog was very good when I called to let him out the back,I had a cup of tea and played with him a while.
Had a nice surprise when I got home,David was on his day of and had baked a cake!!! it is a fruity ginger cake but we cannot eat it yet it has to mature!!
Not sure what we are doing for the weekend ,Hope Fred has agood journey home and had a good stay in Fleetwood.
Sorry Andy did not get to the final Dorothy,and enjoy the finals over the weekend.
Enjoy what everyou all do and take care ,Brenda

hi one and all well it was a bad day for tennis for me but a good day for the canada celebrations and the young royal, first both chaps that I wanted to win their semi-final games lost andy played well in the first set and then as usual appeared to disapear in the rest of the sets I don't know what stops im from getting into the finals but then as it has been said he gets very good paychecks for making it to the semi's maybe that is good enough for him. the royal tour is going well and I think that kate's parents should be very proud of her it appears like she has been working the crowds all her life not just coming into it, the crowds to-day and yesterday were wonderful and will's speeches were very good his mom would have been proud of him, I do hope the tabloids in england leave them alone they are doing a good job. well brenda I hope you had a good look around at the mill in radcliffe I have all kinds of stuff from there anne always takes me there and I bring stuff back ie. tableclothes, aprons sheets blankets etc forone and all, anne's daughter lives in whitefield nice place, glad you took it easy with the friends move, hope frred and liz and jordon are enjoying fleetwood, well time to make my tea/supper I think it is a lean cuisne to-day and salad trying to watch the weight easier in the summer bye for now dorothy

hi one and all well it was a bad day for tennis for me but a good day for the canada celebrations and the young royal, first both chaps that I wanted to win their semi-final games lost andy played well in the first set and then as usual appeared to disapear in the rest of the sets I don't know what stops im from getting into the finals but then as it has been said he gets very good paychecks for making it to the semi's maybe that is good enough for him. the royal tour is going well and I think that kate's parents should be very proud of her it appears like she has been working the crowds all her life not just coming into it, the crowds to-day and yesterday were wonderful and will's speeches were very good his mom would have been proud of him, I do hope the tabloids in england leave them alone they are doing a good job. well brenda I hope you had a good look around at the mill in radcliffe I have all kinds of stuff from there anne always takes me there and I bring stuff back ie. tableclothes, aprons sheets blankets etc forone and all, anne's daughter lives in whitefield nice place, glad you took it easy with the friends move, hope frred and liz and jordon are enjoying fleetwood, well time to make my tea/supper I think it is a lean cuisne to-day and salad trying to watch the weight easier in the summer bye for now dorothy

Morning to all you happy campers,and anyone else who happens by,from a lovely sunny back garden in Newcastle ,oh ,the joys of wireless modems ,lol ;-).
Well ,i issss back ,as you can see ,unpacking done ,garden and housework done ,and todays dinner sorted,phew. i could do with a holiday to get over the homecoming ,lol :-S.
The sis in law followed us up here early Saturday morning to attend a relatives wedding ,but i'm afraid we cried off it ,because Liz can't cope with lots of smoke from guests with the cigarettes ,and heavy perfume as it starts her empysema off good style,so we stayed at home and relaxed in the garden ,me doing a very small B B Q for the two of us ,and sitting under the parasol in the afternoon sun and warmth. :-D.
Poor Andy, Dorothy,he still hasn't learned to concentrate on his game ,and is easily distracted ,a trait of all english /british players,he could do with asking his mate Nadal to show him how it's done ,lol,but to be fair ,he has come to the top of his game at a time when slightly younger players have come to theirs ,and he is outclassed by the competition.
Our main hope is the young english player that was knocked out earlier,and the junior that went all the way to the final ,and looks ,at 17 to be very promising. :-).
Ginger cake with fruit Brenda? ,that's a new one on me.but i have to admit,it sounds a bit of alright .a small slice of that wouldn't do me any harm being as the ginger helps to destroy the sugar in the blood ,so please ,let me know what you think ,as i may decide to have a go.
I think i will sign off for now ,and go and do the lawns before the wife hogs the drier ,don't fancy being slapped round the face with anything ,much less ,wet washing :-( he he ,back later Fred,still sad that the lottery ticket on the euro never won :-\ lol.

goodmorning from a bright and sunny sunday morning was up early at 6-30 I guess the sun woke me up so it is coffee on the balcony, and then the men's final like your comments about the tennis fred and I do agree withyou, this has been a great holiday week-end my lunch out with andrew and Ian was very good Lindy and laura come home to-day from ottawa so I am looking foreward to hearing how the trip went and if they enjoyed all the goings on in the capital, Bryan has texted from camp he is enjoying the training very much, and Ian starts 2 weeks of sailing at the bay from 9-4pm each day. so that is all the family news at the moment. the cake that david made sounds good I quite like ginger as well time to head inside bye for now dorothy