General Chat

hi one and all oh kathleen the flat does sound in a mess sounds like you need the people who clean flats after a fire to come in and give it the once over I wish you both luck with it, yes andy did well I shall be up early friday to watch the mens two semi finals if both roger and andy end up in the finals I shall be very torn on who to cheer for, fred glad to hear the weather has changed for you and your new glasses sound really grand , my daughter in law sent me the travel plans and dates and times for their trip plus important phone numbers where I can reach them if the need arises not that I think that it will some of the plans include the enchanted forest, hever castle three day trips into london one to include a visit to the show stomp. also brighton, then they take the transmarche ferry to dieppe both lindy and Ian get sea sick so that should be fun, after dieppe it is rouen and then to the apartment in paris followed by several days sight seeing . it should be fun, we had another rainy day but now at 7pm it is sunny and pleasent so I am going to take a coffee out onto the and watch the tomato plants grow and wait for the sunset take care bye for now dorothy

Hi all,
Just dropped in to say "hi".
My health seems to be improving but is costing me many health visits at the moment, that it is all go.
The weather has been so warm and humid today t hat I decided not to go out at all. My hairdresser came and asked if I wanted any shopping, but I don't want to put upon anybody if I can do it myself. My neighbour on the third floor also offered to do some shopping for me, but I said no. I could send Johan but I won't because of the humid weather.
We are going to visit my youngest daughter and son in law on Sunday as my daughter will be 49 y ears of age on Wednesday next. I have to go the bloemists tomorrow to sort out some nice flowers and I am giving her money. I don't like giving money, but these days young people seem to have everything. She can now choose what she wants.
My computer is now ok thank goodness. I lost a few e-mails with changing my e-mail address.
My new e-mail address is [email protected]
It is nice to see Kathleen, Brenda, Dorothy and Fred have been keeping the thread going well.
Sylvia xxx

h one and all well I am sad andy lost the match but the other andy played the game of his life so maybe roger will win on sunday and get that 15th reward, sylvia it was good to see you back on line have a nice visit with your daughter on sunday, I see the hot weather in bury has broken anne said they had rain to-day it is still cool over here and quite dull take care bye dorothy

Hello all, Nice to see you Sylvia, pleased that you r health is improving though the hot and humid weather does have an effect. It makes everything such an effort. Cooler now, we did have some rain last night, thunder and torrential rain for a while but it did ease and by this morning had gone.
I watched that match Dorothy, when Andy M lost the first set I had a feeling he wasn't going to win but kept hoping - Andy R played so well and I think deserved his win. It would be good if Roger wins the final for that 15th award
Well I have arranged for the repair people to come to sort out the warped floor boards, check the windows and also the front door though that will be dealt with by someone else on 14th July. A friend rang this evening to tell me that someone she knows is moving and cannot take her fridge/freezer and washing machine with her so will let Indira have them for a very reasonable cost. - about £60 for the two items. Just have to try to arrange transportation, hopefully one of my sons can do this in his works van.
Hope you all have a good day Enjoy your visit with your daughter on Sunday Sylvia.
Love
Kathleen

Hi Sylvia ,nice to see you around again,and nice to see everyone else.
I got the new driving glasses yesterday ,had a K F C for dinner with the wife and came out of the centre to find it really stotting down with rain,oooooops ,there's fred .in the middle of town with only a pair of shorts on ,a casual shirt ,and trainers ,no car because we went to town on the bus ,disaster he he,could have done with trunks and a snorkle lol.
By the time we got off the bus and walked down the bank ,ten minutes in the downpour i was like a drowned rat ,and had to put my clothes in the washer and set it on spin to dry them out enough to hang them on the drier.
Did chicken wraps for tea last night ,with salad ,and meditteranian sauce ,the bairns loved them.
We have the two girls so far ,and Chris arrives in an hour ,a full house methinks lol,so ,i had better go and organise some dinner .
Sorry to rush off ,but it looks like it's a busy weekend ahead for me .Fred

h one and all kathleen it sounds as though you have all the repairs for the flat in good order and what a nice deal on the applainces it sounds like things are falling into place, yes I have to agree after the first set I thought andy was going to have a hard time beating the other andy, I am all set for the match with roger to-morrow I would like to see hime get his 15th win on the other hand andy roddick has improved and got his act to-gether he used to be such a brat, fred hope you don't catch a cold because of your run in with the rain and not being dressed for it. I am taking two of the grandchildren out for dinner this evening a rather last minute thing, thier mom is at the cottage doing some things for her mom, and andrew and the oldest boy are out for dinner with another dad and his son the celebration of the graduation continues the other dad could not attend as he was working out of town so this is to make up for missing it I guess, and laura is a little madam when she is left alone with the youngest it turns into world war 3 at times so the safest thing is for me to play referee. the excitement is mounting for the children as the trip gets closer I try not to think about the recent plane crashes perhaps there is something to be said for not all travelling on the same plane but I can hear my son saying oh mother it will be fine, well must go and change and get over there enjoy the week-end bye dorothy

Good morning all.

Hopefully the repairs will be done Dorothy - they are coming to look but these people are contractors so how good a job they will do remains to be seen. The two items have gone up in price, the lady now wants £50 each. A good price still but if we don't buy she will have to leave them behind for the council to collect - and get nothing!! She has to move by Thursday so not much time for her to advertise. it is a bargain but I do feel it is just a tad mean to increase the price. Will have to arrange transport somehow - I was forgetting that washing machines are very heavy so Philip would not be able to manage on his own - really needs a trolley and a tail lift. Oh well I'm sure we will sort out something - but maybe will cost a bit.
Looking forward to the match this afternoon. The Ladies match was a bit predictable - really is a bit boring when it is the same two once again. Brilliant players though.
Woken this morning at 5am with dreadful cramp in my left ankle, got up and walked a bit to ease it, went back to bed but it then came back but was not just ankle . It just wouldn't go away so I got up - no rest for the wicked is there LOL!!
Hope you all have a good day - trying to work out what time it is in your neck of the woods Dorothy - it's 11.30ish here so are you still sleeping?
Take care
Love
Kathleen

ps - have a great picture in my head of Fred in his shorts and soaking wet
- sorry I know it's not really funny but I had to laugh.

hi kathleen it is sunday 5pm my time 10pm your time we are 5hrs behind of england at the moment which my friend anne often forgets and calls me at 5-6 am sometimes, it is a bit mean of that lady to up the price on the appliances some people have a bit of cheek. well the roger match was good to-day because he won but I think that he could have played a little better and andy roddick played very well, it was great that pete sampras flew in even if it was only for 1 day, the sun has appeared all day to-day so maybe we are in for some good weather, I had a good dinner with the children last evening we went ot one their favourite plces, fish and chips for Ian and a french toast combo for laura that includes 3 eggs 2 strips of bacon and two sausages she can pack it away but she is tall and very slim and acive. I had the mushroom ommalete it was good , so no tennis till august when we have some in toronto the rogers cup it is called and then the us open in august , well I shall away and make some dinner ?supper I rented a couple of movies to watch but lark rise to candleford is on at 9p it is the 2nd series that we are now able to watch I quite like it bye for now dorothy

Good morning - well it was, now pouring down. Was just about to hang some washing out but then saw the big black clouds so decided to wait for a bit. Hopefully it will not rain all day.
Not sleeping too well lately, got up about 4.30 fed up with not being able to sleep and when you lie awake your brain starts going into overdrive. All those mornings when I had to get up for work and longed to be able to spend just another half hour in bed - and now when I can - I can't if you see what I mean!!
Missed the first set of the match yesterday Dorothy but Andy certainly played well, Roger certainly didn't have an easy win and I agree he could have played better. I wish they would repeat Lark Rise on our TV, I missed a lot of it but enjoyed what I did see. They repeat so many programmes that are rubbish and Sky TV has become a bit of a rip-off, they seem to show the same programmes two days running now and we often completely lose the signal so can only gat a few of the channels.
I hope Brenda has enjoyed her holiday, not sure when she is due back.
Had a visit on Saturday afternoon from my ex sister-in-law and my niece which was very nice. Haven't seen them since August at my brothers funeral, and that was the first time in years. Jackie, my niece, is a lovely girl, she is the youngest of my brothers 4 children. She has twin boys, just teenagers now. I hope to see a bit more of them in the future.

Going to make another cup of tea, it looks to be brightening up a bit and the rain seems to have stopped so will get my washing out.

Hope you all have a nice day
Lov e
Kathleen

morning all,specially to Kathleen who has the dreaded retirement disease which NEVER leaves a body ,once infected ,lol
The length of time i have been retired and my body still after a lifetime of getting up at 6 am,still won't let me sleep in he he,if you can't get out of the habit by now Kathleen ,welcome to the club,it's what you get for a lifetime of diligence in punctuality.
Otherwise known to many members on here as JOIN THE CLUB he he.
I too enjoyed the tennis ,and know now that ,good as he is ,at the moment being young and inexperianced yet ,murray just can't hack it against the top three ,Sampras,Ruddick,and Fedderer ,a couple of more years should see him win at Wimbledon.
Commiserations on the rubbish Sky tv as well,but it is no worse that our Telewest cable vision ,if it wern't for the fact that i use the service for my internet connection at home ,i would tell them to shove it.
Found my recipe folder at last ,and have put it in a safe place so i can't loose it again he he,and a few good marinades for B B q chicken and beef strips has joined the list after this last few weeks.
The weather is terrible and the little grills i do at the minute are being done in the kitchen under the cooker hood,this new little electric grill is just the job for three or four people,and i can B B q in the worst weather ,a bonus so far this year.
My little garden is now fullyplanted ,and the french bean are already setting beans in all this rain,and the parsnips and carrot are shooting away ,bumper crop of root veggies this year i'm thinking.
I am toying with the idea of clearing out under the greenhouse staging and putting up some black plastic covers ,i'm thinking mushrooms ,no extra space taken up and i have plenty of wood to make the boxes to put the spore in ,and it would be an extra crop we could grow..
The little place you went for your meal sounds great Dorothy ,we havn't anything like that around here ,all our places but one are take out ,or delivery only,and the one we had has gone downhill and we won't use it ,they can't even get the chips right .,much less do bacon and eggs ,that sort of thing.
Hope all the repairs were done to your satisfaction Kathleen,i would hold back on some of the money till it was were i you ,it seems to work well in the north,but of course ,not all areas are the same.
Off for a swan about now but i may get back later when i have all the work done
Take care all ,and have a good week.Fred.

Hi folks just a quick message from a very hot and sunny Tenerfie.I am on my last day and thought I would see what has been happening.Have not had time to read anything but wil catch up tomorrow night.Had a great time, Brenda

goodmorning from a rainy barrie we are not having the best of summer weather at the moment before I retired in nursing I worked 2 shifts so my wake up time is a bit confused I do find that it is about 6am that I wake up but if I sleep in till 7am one of the 2 cats likes to exercise his front claws into my scalp quite gently at first the if that does not get me up then a little firmer I swear he grins when I leap up , when to the office yesterday and picked up my call list for the week I think it will work out that I will do about 4hrs a day which will be great in the winter when I am snow bound, the family are getting really excited about the trip they fly over on thursday eve arrive at heathrow at 11-15 and then take the train to lewes to lindy's sister I think it is about 1hr of a journey. fred the patio tomato plants are in bloom and one plant has 2 tomato's coming along , Ian and lindy have planted a veg garden at the house Ian is going to leave me a list of instructions on how to look after it for as he says "grandma you have black thumbs not green" the boy knows me well, but I ask you can he wallpaper like I can!!! well off to do a few calls glad to see brenda is enjoying the trip will look foreward to hearing all about it bye dorothy

Hello,everyone,hope I get this message typed ok as some funny things are going on with this keyboard!!
Have been up since 7.30 as John was going to play golf,I have been sorting the washing out ,have had two loads in the machine already,keep looking outside as it does not look to promsing at all,but as long as I get some dry it will be ok.don't want it all over the dining room etc.
The holiday was great ,but as we have not been there during the high season for a long time had forgotten how hot it can be.!!!Did not do much .lots of walking about when it was cooler,lots of lying in the shade reading ,eating ,drinking etcdid not get in the pool at all due to the number of teenagers who seemed to think it was therie play area.!!
Have read all your messages taken best part of a half hour to read from 30 june to yesterday!!
Will be back later as i have to check to the freezer and see what my son has left us and probably go to the shops for something for tea!
Brenda

Hello everyone. Pleased you enjoyed your holiday Brenda, in spite of the heat - and the teenagers who always seem to thinjk the world is there solely for their benefit!! Just to have a change of scene and be able to relax is good.

Well the window latch has been replaced so that is now secure. Discovered how secure the front door is as we got locked in, luckily with the repair man.
Seems Indira turned the key again once she had opened the door and dead-locked it. Of course it shouldn't have been possible to close it but it was slightly loose and when the man came in one of us, not sure who, gave it a hard push and it closed. Wen he went to get his tools the door wouldn't open. Great fun!! He phoned to see if there was any one available to help but in the end managed to push the lever back with the key just enough to use brute force and open it. Anyway he sorted that out as well so the lever is no longer loose and he showed her how to turn the key carefully and only once.. How efficiently the repair people work, shortly after we got home someone called to ask did we have a garage door that needed replacing - No we don't have a garage. Seems they had been given the name and phone number of a lady who lives further down the road (she doesn't have a garage either) they phoned her to say they were on their way so called at our address as that is the one they were given. So some poor soul is waiting for a new garage door and two of us are wondering why they think we have garages. Funny old world.
Just waiting now for them to come and sort out the horrible floor boards, the front door should get sorted on 14th but the nice young man who did the window said not to let them replace the door, just make good the damage as the existing door is the most secure, virtually impossible to break into and fireproof. He also told us that the used to work on a repair or replace basis, nowadays the Housing people insist on repair only even when told a replacement would be better. Spending £'s to save pennies.
Still no electricity there, finally got a key for the meter which was supposed to clear the debit showing - it didn't and it means an engineer coming out to clear it. Have to phone before 4pm or they charge £46 and once we phone someone has to be on the premises until the man comes - and they work until 10pm!! Don't know whether to phone first thing and hope for an early visit or wait until midday which could mean a very late visit and this is all for someone elses debt.. As Indira said "so many things have gone wrong before I've moved in that it should all be good afterwards" Just hope all goes well with the money they have said she can claim to help her furnish the place.
It has been raining hard on and off for the past two days, thunder, hail stones and it's none too warm either. What a change from a week ago.
Off now to see if I can get some sleep.
Dorothy - I will wave at all the planes coming in tomorrow (or later today)
to wish your family a happy holiday. Are they staying in Lewes for the whole time? A lovely part of the country, hope they have a great time.

Have a good nights sleep and a good day.
Love
Kathleen

Hi all.
Kathleen its always good to get away for some Rand R as they say ,We found that by going out to the beach and sitting there it was more relaxing .and cooler as there was always anice breeze.But you are right about some teenagers thinking they can do just whay they want and to hell with everyone else.!!
Been to thr hospital with John today ,he had an appointment at 9.45 saw the doc at 9.55 ,came out at 10.15,not bad we thought...then had to have blood tests and get a prescription filled at the pharmacy. We finally got out at 12.05,but I suppose it could have been worse.
Need to go some one at door Brenda

hi every one it is thursday evening and my entire little family are now at the airport getting ready to come over to england the flight leaves at 11 -15pm my time and gets to heathrow at 11-25 your time I had dinner over there last evening and everyone was excited, I shall miss them but hope they have a great time. we are having some nice weather at the moment it hit 30 to-day rather nice after all the rain it is still nice outside I shall make a coffe and take a book and sit outside till it gets dark it is about 8pm at the moment hope you all are well bye for now dorothy

Morning all ,from a nice,sunny Newcastle O T where i have just made myself a cuppa before i sort out what i need to do today.
Hope your family enjoy the trip ,and the holiday Dorothy,perhaps that's why the sun has come out to play ,a nice welcome if it is.
Your council seem to be veeeery much like ours Kathleen ,slow ,full of cowboy workers with just the odd goodun' thrown in.
Liz and i went out all day yesterday because our water was off for 15 hours while they put in new pipes,blow me down ,i get up this morning and the hole next door is full of water ,come back lads ,all is NOT forgiven he he .
Any way ,we had a weird day out down the road, lol,starting with a fire on the metro line between Heworth ,and Jarrow,meaning we had to revert to the busses to get down to ,first Durham,then sunderland,then Darlington,and finally Stockton. noticingthat all the express services have been stopped ,apart from the ones from Middlebrough to Newcastle,which meant that most of the busses went roundall the little estates,and villages on the way ,one taking over one and a half hours to reach the town centre from the last.
Saw the new steps in front of the market clock ,Ann ,complete with flowing water,and had to take a piccie of the restored clock,before going into the market hall where i saw that you are still being spoilt for choice with all that fish and meat.
Stockton was very nice ,and,going down to the riverside for out sarnies we found we had sat down more or less next door to a fantastic mobile ,which had Liz well interested ,and noticed at the same time that the Tees is so clear now that you can see the river bottom ,well done to all teesiders for that ,a most impressive hour spent watching ducks ,geese and swans gobbling up our crusts.with geese in the water ,it must be really clean.
All the towns mentioned were clean with plenty of flowers and nicelly trimmed grass along the road sides a lot different from ten years ago,when all of them were tatty ,like Newcastle today ,lol,but ,i notice ,there are changes taking place here too ,less rubbish laying about and more flower borders being tended properly ,so it looks like our change of council has started to show dividends.
Going to have a lazy day today, ,just the lawns to cut ,and watering to see to,
Well ,we have out first cucumber ,so there will be no need to buy any for a good while ,her upstairs having three plants well away and two just started.
Off for a swan around now before i start those lawns,so ,have a nice day all and ,enjoy your weekend,Fred.

Good morning all.

Sounds as though you enjoyed your day out Fred, it is nice to see that our council tax gets put to good use in keeping the areas we live in pleasant to look at. There are some places that look so pretty and others are left to get run down and tatty.
Hope you have caught up on your washing Brenda. That's the trouble with going away - you come back to reality with a bump (and wonder did you really wear all those clothes during just one week away!!)
Dorothy, sadly it was pouring with rain at Heathrow about the time your family arrived - but it was showers and not continuous and today is dry and sunny, though not that warm. Hope they had a good flight and enjoy their stay.
Not going to update the battles to get things sorted for g.daughter. Suffice to say I am very angry - will contact Trading Standards re Southern Electric and the attitude of the arrogant man who makes appointments. Realised I am not getting anywhere with requests to get things done reasonably quickly so just have to accept waiting a couple of weeks to get things done is the norm these days.

Hope you all have a nice day
Love]
Kathleen

hi I am coming on line early to-day as it is going to be a scorcher and I need to pop out to the shops it will be great to see the sun but the humidity will be rough, thanks kathleen for the weather report aa my family arrived they are taking a train to lewes so it is 9am my time 2pm yours so I think they should have arrived at lindy's sisters by now her husband will not be there right away as he had a tee off time at st andrews this am that he had waited a year for andrew was hoping there might be a message for him to dash up there and make up a fourth gosh he can dream, fred your day out with liz was great to read you sounded like a great travel guide I could see the places in my minds eye and yet I have never been to those places thanks it was great I guess brenda is still doing the washing hope she is ok bye fornow dorothy

Hi very quick message,will be back later with longer one,been busy getting in food shopping and been out and about with one of my sisters who is on holiday.
Be back later.
Brenda