General Chat

Hello everyone
'We've are having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave' - so goes the song - it is very humid and hot. The rain when it comes makes the humidity rise, so finding a cool place is nearly impossible as its hot inside and outside. The temperature in parts of Christchurch in the South Island of NZ was in the late 30C into 40C and thats cooking. Fortunately our New Plymouth temperatures were in the mid-20's and somewhat cooler. We do need rain and the ones in dire need is the farmers as there is no moisture in the topsoil, what little rain fell the other day on the farms in parts of the country didn't reach the root system. That is bad news.
The motel opposite our home ripped out several straggly looking trees and shrubs making the place look quite bare, but the good news is that are actually replacing them with slender-looking trees. We think that where the trees/shrubs were will become carparking. Greenie, I am not, but it is disappointing to see mature plants being ripped out.
Ahoy there, Brenda - brochures only on Australia what about New Zealand plenty to see and I'm living in the best city in the country (have to brag sometimes).
Take care, John

I will agree with you John New Zealand is the best little country ( Maybe a little biased
Weather has cooled a little these past couple days 26C today tomorrow expected 29 -30C
Enjoy our summer while its here we have turned the corner and are heading to winter while all those in Northern hemisphere are heading towards Summer Pleasant thought after severe winter you are having
Miss Fred and his adventures in kitchen!
Margaret

good morning peeps ,fred's radio madhouse is back on line.lol.
I only have a few seconds at the minute but ,wow ,what a place Cyprus is ,we are def' going back later in the year for a longer stay,so many places to see and things to do.
The wedding went really well ,and the missus took a lovely dvd of the service and the aftermath he he,and took many piccies via her camera stick.
I have a load of piccies too ,but of the countryside ,hills ,cliffs and med',which was a brilliant azure blue.
Sara showed me how to make a greek salad[smashing] and has promised to show me today how to prepare Polish steamed cabbage which i'm told has a few herbs ,or spices in that make a lot of difference to the taste [so i'm told].report will follow,lol.
If i win the lottery ,guess where i am moving too,no kidding ,the weather is a lot better,and you can get all your veggies dirt cheap,locally grown and plentiful,but you need to be pretty well off because ,meat ,,fish and other supplies are very expensive.
.Have to go now ,but Sean and Sara are away to see their uk friends in Nottingham this afternoon,and then fly back to Cyprus next Monday so i will soon be back to normal.
See ya soon you lovely people ,i missed you all .Fred.xxx

goodmorning I was so happy when I went on line this am to read the news from john and margaret and fred and I did need cheering up it is sooo cold -33 at the moment joh I would love some of your hot weather also margaret feel free to send some over, I do have to go out this afternoon over to the families home but I have no idea if my car will start plus it is covered in snow, usually the old thing does start well but to-day will be a test, fred seems to be having a good time and will have lots to write about on his return, good luck with the decorating brenda I am now going to have a hot drink and see about a shower and get this day started bye for now dorothy (it is 9am my time)

WOW what a lovelly bunch of messages has really cheered me up like Dorothy said, Fred Please put me top of the list for visiting you!!!!after you have won the lottery and moved to Cyprus !!!( Would still come and see you here with or without a win.) So pleased the wedding and all went ok,any pics ready??
John and margaret we would love to go to NZ as well, but its all down to funds, we still might not get to OZ judging by the cost our friends have been talking about. We are doing a lot of reading ,surfing the net and number crunching and etc.
Johns friend said he would move over to NZ if he was 20 years younger he is in his mid 60's. He really fell in love with everything.
Decorating been put on hold as David wants to see the bedroom furniture befoe we buy it !!!.Its only on offer till weekend so I think we will have to get it in the summer which means they(John and David) will have more time when its warmer.or so they say.
Hope the car was ok Dorothy mine seems to be permanently defrosting inside and out these days .Was hoping to go to Bury on Saturday but it will be next Wednesday or Friday now.
See you tomorrow ,hope Sylvia is ok and Johann.
take care ,Brenda

Just a few more lines peeps before i try going back to bed to get some shut eye.
I was adopted by the grandsons kitten as soon as i arrived at the bungalow ,a male kitty by the name of Shade,two months old and adorable ,he slept between me and the missus every night we were there,and i spent hours while the granson was at work,playing with him.
We did [all of us] go to the rescue centre where Shade came from,run by an ex pat from yorkshire,a delightful lady who is doing a wonderful job,all the cats and kittens are really well looked after,and Dorothy knows each by name ,their repective ages,and history .
One cat came to the fence as we arrived,ignored every one else in the party and mewed at me.
When we went in she followed me ,and obviously got tired of me ignoring her,and climed up my trouser leg ,and from there onto my shoulder.where she started purring like a demented sewing machine as soon as i chucked her under the chin.
Her name was Gwendoline ,just two years old ,adorable ,and very friendly ,to me anyhow.
I spent half an hour in the centre with her on my shoulder all the time ,and when it was time to leave ,she wouldn't come down,sinking her claws into my jacket ,refusing to let go,growling at Sean as he tried to get her off.
The last i saw of her was her crying for me at the gate,and soft begger that i am ,wanted to take her with me .but of course ,couldn't..
My wife sneaked a photo of her with me stroking her ,which i am going to frame ,i hope to god that when i go back that i will find that she has gone to a loving home.
I have tons of photos as soon as i get them all downloaded off the camera ,and cam corder.
I spent two hours today setting up the laptop which is now online,the wireless connection router.and the mobile broadband ,so i'm ready for anything now.
I also loaded all the gubbins for the cam corder too,so i can upload all the piccies when i get back up.
Off to bed now ,to see if i can get off into the land of nod ,lol.Fred.

hi thurs pm 6-30 my time well fred does seem to be having a good time the note about the animal shelter was wonderful, again we are still in the deep freeze -30 this am and lots of accidents it is so cold that the salt that they put on the highways is not melting the ice so they now are using sand, I did not go out to-day yesterday was enough, though when I was leaving last evening the oldest grandson went out and started the car and cleaned the snow off, it does not seem that long since he was a baby and now a ery grown up 13 and a half yr old, Ian will be starting french imersion in sept, morning classes no matter what subject all in french and the afternoon classes all in english he is really pleased about it. so the decorating is on hold brenda well that should give you a bit of a rest bye for now dorothy

Hi everyone,we have milder weather again today,sorry you are still freezing Dorothy,hope it warms up soon for you.They did say we would be freezing again from Yesterday but its not happend yet.
Just watched a tv programme about people who want to emigrate to OZ and NZ and the NZ one had a peice on New Plymouth which is where John is I think,it looked really good.and they liked it but they don't know if they will be going or not the family are split.It was really nice to see where our genes friends are!!.
Of to work now ,see you tomorrow ,take care
love Brenda

goodmorning well talk about adding insult to injury bad enough we are in this deep freeze but when I woke up this morning I could not see out of the window yes it was snowing again they have issued red winter warning re snow squalls and boy is it coming down another expected 20 cm on top of all that we have, but the funny thing about snow squalls at my end of town you can't see but further down towards the toronto area at the 400 and 89 about a 8 minute drive they have no snow and the sun is shining I do hope that by sunday it will be better so that I can head to brampton I am looking foreward to 4 days with friends and watching the inaguration also the australian tennis open starts at long last tennis again. brenda you are right australia and new zealand seems the place to be I have a friend in bury whose daughter and family emigrated to new zealand and love it, my sister leaves on monday to the caymans and the hot weather how I would love to be going with her, well I shall stop moaning you all must be fed up hearing about my weather blues, and update on the grandchildren Laura broke her pinky finger at volley ball at school and has a metal splint on it this happened on wednesday her mother and I were not sure it was broken but it kept swelling so of to the clinic and x-rays were done never a dull moment bye for now dorothy

I hope your freezing weather soon improves I really wouldnt know what thats like , 14 inches of snow here in 2006 and that was most unusual ' If Snow falls here its usually brief and disappears quickly
Brenda would love to visit NZ and OZ I would really love to visit UK to see places my ancestors came from Have made contact with some Relatives through Internet
Two of my Grandchildren are competing in South Island Colgate games Athletics the 11 yr old has a siver in discus and 13 has a bronze in hurdles and a silver in combined relay So can be well pleased
Their best events shot put and discus for elder are still to come
Margaret

Hi again everyone,its a no sleep night again ,I am not supposed to be in work tomorrow but one of the girls had a berevement last night and the team leader aske some of us to cover her weekend shifts,so I am doing the afternoon one.Its just one of those things ,I know my shifts where covered last year when dad died.
Dorothy hope the white stuff doesn't stay ,and you get away to see your friends,sorry your grandaughter was injured.
Margaret,you must be really proud of your grandchildren I know I would be,where abouts areyour ancestors from?
I have friends in Victoria ,I have been twice to see them they live on the Morning ton peninsula .
My friends daughter is in NZ but I am not sure where as she is working /travelling.
Take care ,
Brenda

And a very good morning to one and all ,from a mildish Newcastle upon tyne,a bit damp ,but otherwise good for the time of year.
I have had a busy couple of days downloading the piccies of Cyprus,and the wedding ,which i have strarted to send out.
I have also loaded the mobile internet into my laptop,so i can now go on line anywhere that is covered by the orange phone company.
I have also bought a new digital camera that i can upload to my laptop with so i can take the one card with me and use again as i need.
The newly weds are still asleep upstairs ,as is the wife [huh] the only awake female in the house is Hissy ,who has had the breckie of skate trimmings ,and has just gone out the front room door.no doubt back to bed ,[lazy cat ].
We took Sean and Sara to Solomans last night for an Indian meal,which was great [as always,and tonight i am taking them and 20 guests to the city [china town for a buffet meal,as theit reception in england.
What with these two meals ,and the promised Christmas meal tomorrow ,i bet they will be a bit heavier on their flight back to cyprus on Monday.lol.
We take them down for their flight home from Manchester take off at three pm,and from there we will do a shoot onto the m6 up to Blackpool for a few days with the sis' in law and hubby before coming home [ain't we dirty stop outs ?.
I have sneaked home a few orang seeds from the med' to grow ,i hope into a small tree for the garden,i know it won't fruit up here because it is too cold in winter ,but i thought the shape of the tree and the lovely green foliage would look nice.
When we travel to Cyprus later in the year,we are now allowed to take a bite to eat onto the plane which will save a packet,but we will have to buy the drinks in the departure lounge before boarding which is still cheaper than buying on the aircraft,luxury these airbusses after the aircraft i remember from thirty years ago he he,plenty of room to stretch the legs ,and films to watch too,lol,the height of luxury.
Talking of which,these Greek bakeries [sigh] wish there were a couple around Newcastle,the bread was fantastic ,so many types,and all lovely tasting,and the cakes were to die for,colourful,no doubt as tasty as they look,and rack upon rack of them,all round the shop,i have never seen as many types ,all baked on the premises,and the people running them are so cheerful and helpful [our shops could learn a thing or two] and some of these bakeries are open 24 hours and do one heck of a trade.
The countryside was beutiful,all sandy type soil and sandstone cliffs,with tracts of land between growing ,corn ,cabbage lettuce,beetroot onion ,leek,and celariac.and the cyprus potato's that you can buy at the markets over here.
Along side the roads the plantations growing oranges ,grapefruit,lemons,dates ,olives and whatever,both gardens and plantations a blaze of colour among the hills and sand,this must be simular to Israil,even the houses are built on the hillsides where ever possible to save growing land.
Limmasol is very cosmopoliton and vast as is the other city on the northern end of the island,the tons like larnica are pretty big too,reminding me of my time in the gulf with the arab style souks in the heart of the market areas.
The only downside i could find is that there are no transport systems,no busses ,or trains between towns or cities and you either have to hire a car[not expensive] or go by taxi [ very expensive] but i am lucky in that i can hire a car from the motor pool at Akrotieri saving a fair bit on local hire charges. courtesy of my Grandson.
Well folks ,time to go and get some brecckie on ,promised the missus grilled bacon,sausage and egg this morning seeing as the next meal will be much later in the day.
Hope everyone has a nice weekend Frerd.

hi brenda I hope that you catch up on your sleep and it is so good to have fred back home and on line with us, fred you certainly had a good time and I enjoyed reading all that you had to say, hope you enjoy your visit to blackpool you and liz certainly have the travel bug. yes brenda the snow has stopped at the moment more this afternoon is promised and some to-morrow but I am still hoping to get down to brampton for my little vacation and then return on wednesday so here's hoping that mother nature co-operates, bye for now dorothy

Nantwich area in Cheshire is where My fathers family hail from another branch My mothers came originally from Bradford My husbands from London district
Dorothy I see you will be watching Obama"s inaguration
My grandaughter from Perth WA spent the last symester at University in Washington DC as part of her study abroad programme and was an intern in White house 2 days a week as part of her studies She enjoyed every moment of her stay and had so many new experiences was able Spent Thanksgiving with a family I know she loved being there while elections were held and she will follow with real interest The ceremonies
margaret
Margare

sunday evening 9pm well I did not get down to brampton to-day as we had a nother major storm sat eve till noon to-day plus I woke up at 7-30 not feeling well without sharing all the details I spent the day in the bathroom I must have eaten something yesterday that did not agree with me, so I stayed in bed all day we are getting more snow to-morrow so even if I feel better andrew has called me and said stay home mom the roads are bad, I am very disappointed I was so looking foreward to seeing my friends, margaret yes I am going to watch obama I watched it all day yesterday, the australian tennis was supposed to be on at 7pm but they put american football on instead can't win for loosing to-day bye for now dorothy

Morning all just a few quick lines as I am just going to have a quick shower and then get out to do a few errands,
Hope you are better Dorothy and get to Bramton soon,Enjouy the Inougaration ,and hope you get to see some tennis.
Margaret,what a great thing for your Grandaughter to have done, she must be clever.I am not sure if I can help you musch with your research with your places but i will try if you need any help.
Hope Sylvia and Johann are ok if you are just reading Sylvia hope all is ok.you have our love.
See you soon ake care
Brenda

Dorothy What a crowd in Washington hard to believe coming from Small town most of New zealand would need to be there!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great to watch
Margaret

hi everyone yesterday was a wonderful day even if I had to watch it for the most part from my bed still under the weather and feeling quite rough whatever this is I wish it would go away, one of the cats has spent the time right next to me quite a good nurse the other follows me to the bathroom and cries till I come out I will spare you the details. hope you all are well and that fred and liz are enjoying blackpool, brenda thanks for the personal e-mail bye for now dorothy

Just a quick hello ,sorry you are still ill Dorothy hope it passes soon.
John was ill the other day ,then I thought I had it of course not as bad as he did !!!
Went to Bury today ,but it seemed a bit quiet,bought some new baby things for my new great neice.found a stall that had a good selection of premature babt things.She is doing well but still hasn't got a name.
Did not do all the market as it was so cold.Bought some cheese from the cheese stall ,just some really great lncashire cheese ,my sister bought some stilton and brie.Only small peices as she is trying to cut down on her dairy products.
Hope everyone is staying warm/cool See you Friday as I have a busy day tomorrow and am working at 12 .30 til 8pm so will be shattered when I get home.take care ,brenda

hi brenda glad you made it to the market the lancashire cheese sounds great and isobelle would love the stilton especially the stilton with ginger, sorry to say I am still under the weather and am heading back to bed soon whatever this is I don't like it hopefully the nausea will stop soon called andrew to ask him to come over and check on the car I am sure it is well and truly ploughed in in the lot with the snow that has come down so he can dig it out for me take it easy at work on friday bye for now dorothy