General Chat

Hi all, I too watched a little of the Concert for Diana and thought William and Harry were enjoying themselves too. Johan doesn't like that sort of music - strictly Bach, Beethoven type - so couldn't watch all the programme. Did see Elton John. We have had some heavy showers of rain here today but I went out this morning on my scooter and only had a few drops of rain. Isn't it awful to think that a doctor who has been treating the sick is also capable of murdering them the next minute. Unbelievable. Missy sounds lovely Fred. What a pity you couldn't put a photo of her on here. Brenda, I use tempura batter for frying fish - that is if I am going to fry fish. We can now buy packets of tempura batter which are very good, so long as you use cold water. Not much news. See you tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Hi there, Am I all alone again? Well we have had some heavy showers of rain and in the night a lot of lightning. I know this because I am claustrophobic and never have our bedroom curtains drawn - Johan says I don't know why I bothered making curtains in the first place! - so I had lightning shining on my face in the early hours of this morning. Own fault. I've had my help in the house today and she has cleaned my big windows in the sitting room both inside and out. She is going on holiday and I must miss her for 3 weeks. Am having a young girl for two weeks to do essential jobs. Where are you all? Sylvia xxx

Just at the end of lunch so taking 5 mins to answer some emails. Raining again to day and at the minute its really heavy and dark!!! Will look for the tempura batter mix over here Sylvia.and let you know.how we go on. Having a cup of tea now before getting back to work,might be slow this afternoon if this rain keeps on. Brenda

Brenda, I found the tempura mix with other Chinese food items here. Weather still the same as you have, but supposed to be better the weekend. I do hope so for those going on holiday. This weekend is the exit for a lot of our holidaymakers. This is just a short note, see you tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Afternoon all,well it has been a bit dryer today but it does keep trying and when it does it is heavy. Couldn't see the batter mix in our supermaket Sylvia ,so might have a drive to the chinese supermarket near my friends it usuually has everything like that. Off to make tea now only a sandwich as we went out with friends for lunch ,to mark her last chemo session,she has had treatment since Jan 10th. Take care brenda

Hi all ,Sylvia ,Brenda,old uncle tom cobbly and all [lol].I have been busy showing Rachael around and doing some research,culminating with findind a rellie[mead ,in London,and his wife [pretty chuffed Brenda],but it seems a shame,the wife dying only a few years after the marriage ,and by 1881 he was living with his brother and working as a greengrocer in st giles[no children] We went for dinner in north shields as we promised and things havn't changed at all at the waterfront,the fish was still overhanging the plates,very fresh and tasty,the chips are still the best iv'e ever tasted outside yorkshire ,the mushy peas likwise. Two huge pots of tea went with this along with bread and butter. Liz not liking fish had two huge spam fritters. rachael couldn't beleive the size of the fish ,and the amount of the other stuff on the plates.I had the cheek to ask for a doggie bag ,for Missy,saying the kitten loved fish,the lass said okay,but came back a few minutes later with a little piece of cod[trimmings] which she had steamed for me[no charge] so ,missy says thanks very much lady ,if you are watching this morning,she loved every morsal,and didn't leave owt but the pattern on her plate lol. The cost of these huge plates of food and the rest? £19.50p[eaten in ]four people. and one kitten hee hee. I did get the tube of silicone mastic for the van yesterday but won't be able to use it today,piddling down again lol. Hope everone is okay,i'm off shopping ,but will be back later on if the wife will let me grrrrrr.Fred.

Hi all, Sorry you couldn't find the tempura mix Brenda. If you really would like a packet just mail me with your address and I'll send you one. Just friendship, nothing else! I had some pieces of plaice today and put these through a tempura batter and had some oven chips then a salad of lettuce, tomatoe, spring onions and a chopped hard boiled egg. See you all tomorrow Sylvia xxx

hi I am back after having company for two days then I drove my friend home yesterday fred your fish supper sounded much better than mine the fish was grand but the onion rings were over cooked and the mushy peas well the less said about them the better but the company was great. to-day what a good day of tennis at the start of the roddick match I boogied back up the highway only took me 45 minutes as the traffic was moving fast usually takes about one hour and a bit, so I am now going to relax I feel like I have played the matches myselg. sylvia I envy your plaice supper I can't get it over here very often and it is frozen and seems to have no flavour when i come home my friend always cooks me plaice for a few days till I almost over dose on it. my mom always cooked it in butter steaming it when I was ill as a child good memories. so it is tennis again to-morrow so I shall say bye for now regards to all dorothy

Hi Everyone,had a good day in work today ,managed to do all the daily jobs and straighten some shelves ,its amazing where some people put back the books they have been looking at! We have a job which we have to look at books in a certain section ,today was 'romance' Mills and Boon. etc and remove any that have not been taken out for twelve months ,they are then sent on to another library .when a lady saw me doing this she said we did not have enougth as it was ,I could not convince her that we would get some back and they had not been being read anyway.!!! Still raining,hope its dry tomorrow . Sylvia thanks for the offer i will let youknow how I go on. Dorothy,I bet you are drained with the tennis ,glad you enjoyed the visit from your friend.Not long now till your visi here. Off to bed now after a cuppa, Take care Brenda

Morning all ,Brenda ,Dorethy,Sylvia and everyone else,cor ,have i let the side down[sorry Sylvia ] smacks hand and kicks himself,hee hee,thought i would take a leaf from our resident cook,and bake some bread,so i got out two packets from the cupboard,a mix for cheese and onion bread ,and a one wholemeal with the grains in. To cut a long story short,i followed the instructions to the letter ,put them in the oven ,and produced two house bricks that would have made the London Brick Company proud of me,i finished up with two 'two pound slabs which hadn't risen at all[groans and muffled sobs ensued]When will i learn to read all of the packet first lol,they were three months out of date hee hee,i suppose i could have ,if i read first it properly,put in some fresh yeast and salvaged something,but never mind ,they smelled great coming out of the oven. I had that salmon last night in a small salad for tea ,and saved some for missy,who hadn't touched it by the time we went to bed and i thought ,she dosn't like it,but when i got up this morning ,it was all gone This is great news for me,as every time i have fish now ,i know she will eat every fish i do.so she isn't hard to please at all food wise. I am off out now ,while the sun is out ,we are going for an amble while we have the chance. There is a new scientist on the block,who is predicting the weather better than the forcasters ,who say our weather is controlled by the jet stream. He reckons it's more to do with the sun and the way it behaves,as regards sun spots and other sun related matters.He just recently predicted all the worlds storms and wet weather giving us all the worst june on record. When now the majorety of forcasters say it's now going to get a lot better,he is saying it will get worse in July and will be the worst july on record too ,with the liklihood of tornados in britain like never before.He also reckons pollution isn't the cause of global warming which is a natural occurence every few thousand years ,but does make it a lot worse than it would otherwise be.. it will be interesting to see who is right,but i reckon he has a better idea as to the cause and effects ,than the likes of Michael Fish lol. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend,and Brenda,you are working too hard again lass,get a holiday booked and come up north for a week ,i have a double room here ,and a van too,plenty of room where i can spoil you for a few days.,afraid you will need your own wellies though,but at least ,we are far above the valley floor and well away from all the lying water .Fred.

hi I was up at 6-30 getting ready to watch tennis at 7am and blow me it is not on as yet, I ran to the computor and the turned to the bbc news sports section and yes they are playing so do I cheat and check the scores or wait till 9am till the feed from the Uk comes on what a choice so far I had one little peek and then turned it off, fred your weather forecast sounds not great what does this chap say for august I don't want to weigh my suitcase down with wet weather gear, I suppose I can always buy wellies at the bury market, off to have a shower and pop out to get the saturday paper and then finally watch the two semi finals and the ladies finals it is a beautiful day here sunny and not too hot. brenda fred is right you need a holiday why don't you take him up on his offer bye for now dorothy

Hi all, These mushy peas which everybody is crazy about in England. When I used to live in England these were unheard of. When were they introduced to the British household? I don't like processed peas at all so don't like mushy peas, only fresh peas for me or frozen garden peas. What a good job we are not all the same isn't it? I dislike Nescafe and only like fresh brewed coffee. I always drink tea very weak without milk and sugar. Not very English am I? Usually make my own soups from scratch, although have been known to have a tin of soup. How we change with the years, or do we fit in with the surroundings I wonder? Sylvia xxx

What me again! Just a quick one to keep the thread going. Beautiful weather lots of sunshine and no showers. Have a nice day. My youngest daughter is 47 years of age today. Sylvia xxx

Morning all,it started out really nice and bright and dry to day ,evenput out the bedding to line dry but its gone really dark again .so will have to keep one eye on the rain situation. had a good time at the BBQ at my friends last night and it did stay nice and dry and even sunny for a while. Fred we had a real feaste,he did smoked salmon and trout,ribs .lamb chops,home made burgers ,jumbo sausgae, two sorts of flauvour on the chicken drumstcks, corn on the cob,baked and new pots,.salad, all sorts of relishes and salad dressings and a beautiful sangria , he made bbq bananas with peach schnapps hot sauce and vanilla icecream. had far too much of everything ,so having a simple steak pie and mash for lunch today !!! ha dto go and bring in the washing !! and now the thunder has started. Dorothy hope you enjoyed the tennis yesterday and enjoy it today as well. See you all tomorrow Take care Brenda

hi brenda your evening out and the meal sounded like great fun yes I have enjoyed the tennis and to-days match was simply wonderful I am exhausted I think that I played every point with roger plus I walked the floor quite frequently, and it is so nice to see him dress in the right gear for such a traditional place. this coming week is going tobe boring. the u.s. open will be on while I am in england doyou have any idea if you get coverage of that. well I am off to make my tea just a salad and small loin of pork (one slice). have a good week bye dorothy

Morning ,Dorothy ,Brenda ,and anyone else that drops in . The B B q sounds lovely and i hope to have one of my own before Rachael flys home on Thursday. Oz can be proud of itself,what a lovely lass she turned out to be,well mannered ,a laugh and a half ,and very unassuming. I will miss her myself ,she has been like a breath of fresh air around the place. I think the son is going to take her to the beamish Museum some day this week ,which i'm sure she will enjoy. this perishing cat is a sly quick learner peeps. Having found out how to get upstairs ,she has now found out how to order breakfast it i don't get out of bed quick enough hee hee. I thought it was a one off yesterday ,but no,she did it again this morning,which i don't mind in summer but i will close our bedroom door in winter to get a longer lie in lol. The little madam now sticks her wet nose in my ear 'ole at six in the morning to wake me up,if this dosn't work it's bounce all over Freds chest in that stiff legged stance, [a bit like pepe le Phew] off Tom And Jerry ,and if that dosn't get a response ,its the full treatment ,sneak under the covers and worry the ankles or toes whichever is handiest lol. Anyway ,having got up at six ten [groan] and having fed that darned cat hee hee,i decided going back to bed was a waste of time and went into the garden instead,dead heading the roses and pruning the willow tree at this time of morning clears the head very quickly . All that's left to do out there is clear the weed from the small centre flower bed,and that's it.,oh ,and water the three new alpine plants i put into the rockery yesterday afternoon. Said rockery is now full and looking good.and so far the new rose cuttings seem to be hanging in,so,i have my fingers crossed.. Off now ,to get some work done ,but hope to be back later,have a good day all.Fred.

Morning Dorothy , Fred , Sylvia and anyone else just reading, On work at 12.30 so just here a minute or two. Dorothy I will check about the tennis ,could be on Sky Tv live and BBC etc later . fred that darn cat is just like ours they will get into the bed room if they can,(some nights they get in with our knowledge and hide ) then at some unearthly hour they pounce and I mean pounce!!! all over us . Might be back tonight depends on how tired i am. Brenda

goodmorning everyone thanks brenda for looking into that bit about the u.s.open for me, fred your little kitty is going to rule the house before long my two boys now coming up for14yrs old like to sleep on the bed with me, years ago Iclosed the bedroom door but they would just take a run at it and throw themselves against it till I opened it. it was a war of nerves which they won. the only good thing is they sleep at the bottom of the queen size bed. I am also glad to report that the tomato plant is still alive and has about 13 tomatoes on it. the grandson (Ian) is very impressed that I have not killed it yet.. after two weeks of tennis I am going to spend the day house cleaning and catch up on some things bye for now dorothy

Hi all, What weather we are having, rain, hail, tornados, thunder, lightning. One minute you are basking in the sun and the next minute covered in hail stones. Crazy world. Have been having a peaceful day, doing odd jobs. Some neighbours are away on holiday so no chance of them popping in for a chat. Tomorrow have to go to the hospital for a check up with the surgeon who operated on me. I am going to try and get an earlier appointment for the neurologist as my hand is giving me so much pain now. Your missie sounds great fun Fred, never a dull moment with her I am sure. Cannot type too much because of my hand. See you tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

afternoon everyone,hope you get the earlier appointment Sylvia,and the other one is good news!!, Dorothy will let you know when I have found anything out,about the tennis,my dad has a monthly 'sky tv times' so I will check in it for August. On lunch at work ,weather dry at the minute but not sunny at all,you are right Sylvia it is a crazy world at teh minute. Take care,Brenda