General Chat

Hi all, Back to Fred, is Totteridge Lane north London? I used to have a boy friend around that area. Well today has been a funny day for me. I woke up at 6.30 am and watched the news on tv and felt a bit cold so went back to bed again - fatal, shouldn't have done it. I then woke up at 10.30 am. Wow! When I eventually got up I asked Johan whether he had had breakfast and he said he was just thinking about having lunch. What a cheeky whipper snapper! I never heard Johan get up or have a shower.He sleeps in the bed next to me, honest. Well the morning almost finished I decided to have breakfast and read the newspaper.I then visited my neighbour on the third floor who is waiting to go into hospital for a tumour to be taken away from her kidney. She will lose the kidney because the tumour is in an awkward place. She is a risky patient as she is overweight and has diabetes so is very worried. Difficult to console somebody at this stage. Let's hope she gets into hospital quickly. The waiting is agony. This afternoon I went out on my scootmobile as the sun was shining. Now have a nice evening everybody. Sylvia xxx

Morning peeps Fred has finished early so has now nothing to do until three this afternoon [wahey]. That sounds familier Brenda,i hope you haven't paid up front,always a bad idea,and if you hav'nt tell the firm they won't be getting a penny until it's installed to your satisfaction. If by any chance you did pay up front ,get on the phone and tell them if it isn't finished to your satisfaction very shortly ,you will be sending this story to a certain television programme[rogue traders ] and the local papers ,which i reckon will move their butts pretty quickly Now ,on to Sylvias question ,did i live [used to] ,in Totteridge lane,no ,i lived in a little place [keens close] off totteridge lane ,which leads me to an interesting point [to some] ,i thought the name Walton drive in the news ,re the airport uproar,was familiar and,lo and behold ,it's the next street up from where i used to live ,and it was a regular place for us kids to play ,the road being used to play tennis ,and cricket on the green at the top and the road itself to learn to ride our bikes on ,it was that quiet . We used to play in totteridge woods too,which goes all the way through to Penn ,a lovely liitle [expensive] village five miles away,in those days you could play in it all day without seeing another soul. This area is now crawling with police looking for buried ammunition and the like .so i say to them ,if any of you come across a tin box buried just inside the wood behind the Dolphin pub with the inscription inside stating that this box was buried by marilyn baird,denis baird,terrence winship ,and kenny farnes ,with the princely sum of two bob in it ,all in pennies ,we want it back please lol. Yes it was and still is ,a lovely place to live,and the main part of the wood is still there[i think] but i notice the maps now say the wood is now Kings Wood,what a bl**dy cheek the council have got ,changing it's name that way after so many years ,not fair sniff. I got finished nice and early but it's too wet to go into the garden,so it looks like housework ohhhh joy lol. i will keep an eye on the puter though in case someone adds to the thread. Have a nice day all.Fred.

this is really short and sweet as I should not be on here ,weather not bad today ,but still having trouble getting them to come and finish the kitchen.Will be on the phone again tomorrowif we don't here from the fitter with a day when he can come. need a cuppa now,then bed still feeling tired.Brenda

Hi all, Glad to hear you had a nice time at your niece's 18th birthday party. Oh to be 18 again! Fred, did you used to live in Totteridge Lane? The weather here is wet and windy so have been in all day. I changed the beds and did the bathroom and toilet and washed the kitchen floor - enough is enough. I do hope this is the last time and my new help comes next week. I decided to clean out the soap drawer of my washing machine. Oh it was so dirty that I am glad nobody else has seen it. My daughter said I should clean it out every month, Perhaps she is right. My daughter also said I should run some cleaning fluid through and put it on the hottest wash. Not today had enough. The weather is supposed to be better, so will be out on my scootmobile tomorrow. Last week I met a little girl who loves to chat to me. I was in the Post Office and she kept calling me, quietly, and when I eventually turned round her mother said that she had been wanting to talk to me for a long time. I then said goodbye and maybe I'll see you in the supermarket. Well lo and behold, there she was again (in her pushchair with her mother). She was so delighted to see me. Her mother then said she had no more time and was going off and then turned to me and said 'do you know what she has just said'. I said 'no'. She said 'I was a nice thing'. Well kids will say this to each other but not to older women like me. I don't mind of course and loved being able to talk to her. I asked her why she had sunglasses on, were they for the rain or the sun? This was a good opener. Well see you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

afternoon everyone ,from a chilly and windy Manchester at least at the minute it is not raining. We had a great night last night at my neices 18th birthday party,had a headache with all the loud music but it was good to see everyone having a good time.Also caught up with some cousins and other relatives,it was the third night out for me this week ,so i am shattered ,need a bath abd an early night tonight.Have some ironing to do after tea but thats all.have left my normal weekend cleaning unil my half day on Wednesday. Had news of two more impending family weekends but they are not until next year and the year after so time to get ready again. On a late tomorrow so not sure when i will get on here,might be Tuesday.Take care brenda

Hi all, Well Fred you put me to shame par length of text which you write. I feel guilty if I only write two lines. Here the weather is bright and sunny, but the forecast is not so good. I am staying in as if I venture out then I will surely meet one of those 'torrential' showers they mention are coming our way. They could of course be wrong, but I am not taking chances. Feeling sad today as Linda my granddaughter is flying out to Rhodos on her own. She hasn't flown alone before, but I told her to do it. She cannot sit around waiting until her ex boy friend contacts her. I am not going to do much today, but there are always 'musts' such as getting dinner. Fred you are lucky being able to grow your own vegetables as they certainly do taste better than the shops. I do have a strawberry plant on my balcony which has given me strawberries since I bought it. I also have herbs such as parsley, dille, and mint. Now that is a bit more than two lines, so will sign off now. Sylvia xxx

Morning Sylvia ,Brenda,Kathleen,Mavis,and anyone who happens to log on,From a cool windy ,wet Newcastle.[yuk]. My one day off and i wake up at six,grrrrrrr and wet as well ,so getting started on moving my plants around is out of the question as well[grrrrr again] ,but hey ,no matter, i can sit here and annoy you all for a while instead.lol. It might be an idea for all you folks in blighty and canada to give your heating systems a run now before the autumn starts,far better to have any breakdowns BEFORE the weather gets nasty than to have it go when you most need it ,yes? I mentioned it because i started mine this morning and it made a lot of noise [pops and bangs] as it sorted itself out,and i would hate to see anyone in a bad situation when they turn on when it gets really cold. It looks as though it's a roast at the sons today because al fresco in the garden is out ,unless we have a fish dish,but the missus is doing a few pies and whatever for tea too and so we ain't going to go hungry lol. I am taking through some thirty amp cable for his shower unit too,seeing as the fella he tried to get do it for him tried to fleece him good style,and tried to say the son needed three twenty metre rolls to do the job,and all that to take a cable up the stairs to the bathroom,i could and will do it with ten metres. I told the fella to p... off and i would be putting his firms name on the internet as a rip off artist,and i will as soon as i get the name off the son. This twerp was on about taking this wire chased into the walls up into the loft,and through the bathroom ceiling which would use only thirty feet of cable ,and chopping holes through floors and cielings on the way. Seeing as his house has the power box at the bottom of the stairs ,whats wrong with taking a floorboard up ,the bottom riser and top riser of the stairs and feeding plastic conduit up the flooring of the stairs where it can't be seen,through the bathroom wall and then chase it up the wall to the bath ,which is handy for the water pipe as well for the pipe connection,and it will take no more cable than twenty feet or so,and i'm sure i have enough left in the shed from fitting my own shower,so all the lad needs is the circuit breaker in the fuse cupboard,and a sparky to check the wiring before it's connected for the first time.Sorry to carry on a bit but it gets my goat,anyone who can't make a decent living without ripping folk off should be put down as a waste of space Fred now gets down off his high horse,and puts away his placard,[until next time lol]. I havn't seen my birds for two weeks or so,it's been boiling hot for weeks and now is coldish,and wet so the poor little perishers have given up in disgust i shouldn't wonder ,so if anyone out there sees Freds song thrush ,robin tits and spuggies can they please send them back,i miss the little critters . I seem to be having problems with my runner beans,the flowers are being eaten by something ,a fly or bug,no slug or snail can get up those thin branches,but i suppose it may be to do with the variety ,or the heat,but i have never grown this sort before ,so just in case ,i will go back to [steamline] next year ,which is string less.,and very prolific. My corn is doing great and i will enjoy a few cobs done of the b b q or if the weather is too bad ,i will put the griddle on the cooker and do them that way,a little salt and either butter ,or a little honey and i will be well away [slurp] The lettuce and tomatoes are doing well and the cucumbers are still throwin g fruit at every chance so salads are the in thing in the household at the mo,and i must admit i enjoy growing my fruit and veggies again ,and the taste .wow. I have mounted an armed guard on my one apple lol,thats going to make some apple sauce to go with the piece of pork i have in the freezer,the little varmints ain't getting that ,they can make do with the stuff i put out for them hee hee. I am having a real treat this morning ,TWO cups of tea as i am within easy reach of the toilet being off work today. If i was on my rounds in some places ,there are no toilets handy ,and tea and diabetics do not make a good mix,and YOU try driving with YOUR legs crossed, bet you can't lol. Well i'm going to bog off now and give someone else a chance,i did mean to come back on after i finished the shopping ,but as i told J a,i came in to find Sean had hogged my internet connection ,on my time ,he is supposed to wait until i go to work at three when it is his for the rest of the day,but he was playing war games with his internet pals,he seemed quite miffed when i asked him if he hadn't had enough of war games in Iraq,oh well ,there is no pleasing some people. See ya all tomorrow,have a good day all of you .Fred.

Hi everybody, Well it has been dry here with some sunshine, but other parts of the Netherlands have had heavy showers of rain. Saw pictures on television of a dance parade with girls with next to nothing on dancing in the rain. No, too cold for me! Did a little ironing to keep me warm and my hairdresser came, but further a leisurely day.We shall soon be having the central heating on if the weather stays like this. July far too hot and August far too cold, what a summer! Have a nice evening everybody. Sylvia xxx

Hi kathleen .nice to see you again,just get on here when you can,just finshed my lunch and have a few mins before we open again.so as I will not have chance at home tonight i am popping in now. have a good weekend Take care Brenda

Hello Nice to read all the messages, sorry I haven't contributed lately but this computer has been so annoying lately. Keeps cutting me off and by the time I get it sorted I'm either too tired or my neck and arms hurt. Will be off site for a day or two as I am late in renewing, I queried the price increase as I have seen on other threads that some people have had refunds of the additional £2.45 but it seems GR are being selective and varying the charge in some cases. It is now almost double the initial fee from GC days, not sure that I can see any reason for this. This may well be my last year though I don't want to lose contact with my friends on here. Have been busy chopping down some of the shrubs in the garden. Most have outgrown their space and I want to replace some of them, the garden isn't really big enough and looks too overgrown. My favourite Choisya has to go, it has a lovely Clematis growing through it so I have to be careful as I don't want to lose the Clematis. At the moment my neighbours are reaping the benefit as it has grown through the bush and over their side of the fence. I have some wall pots which are doing well and the pots on the drainpipe outside my kitchen window look very pretty - have to keep those well watered, if it isn't hot it is very windy so they dry out so quickly. My herb tubs are all doing well this year though the slugs are eating all the Basil pesky slimy things!! Hope the meeting in Sydney is a great success, I'm sure it will be. Not mentioning any names as I am bound to forget some so I will just wish you all happy days and see you again very soon. God bless Love Kathleen

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Hi everyone,sorry to have been away for a few days,didn't seem to get chance with one thing and another,but it was really great to see you all here. The late hour is due to going to bed at 11pm nd waking at 1.30 and not getting back to sleep.so thought i would tryy 10 mins or so on here. I have been out with my girlfriends celebrating two of their birthdays,we should have been out in july but it was put back for various reasons. Thursday night we went out to see friends from Australia,so that was a late night as well,Was off work Thursday and Friday but had a few errands to do ,phone calls to make and letters to write as well as catching up with my washing and some ironing. Working all day tomorrow,and out again in the evening to my neices 18th birthday. I will be shattered by all these outings. Di ,hope you are doing ok by limiting your computer time,but spare us a few mins now and again please. Welcome Jood,hopw the meet goes well in Sydney,and you manage to get rid of the cold to go.We have not had any sunshine for a few days,so can not help you there.I am hoping we get the sunshine back for our meeting in Manchester on 26 August. Sylvia glad the meal went well,and you impressed the granson. Fred ,asbusy as always everyone else seems so organized I just seem to be catching my tale all the time. Mavs,have a lovelly visit with your family. Going to see if I can get back to sleep.Might not get on tomorrow,ut will try. Take care,Brenda

Goodevening all. Nice to hear from the old faithfulls again. You never let the thread down do you. I will be away as from tomorrow a.m. for 9/10 days. May be able to use my daughters puter whilst staying there. We'll see. Will have to fight the two grandsons off!! My daughter Sue and her husband Kevin are off to Raratonga for a holiday. The first time on holiday without the boys. Very cold here again today and still raining. I did have a chance between showers to plant my other 6 strawberry plants. They have blooms on so thought I had better get cracking with the planting. Picked the last of my lemons last week but I see today that there are a lot of blooms coming again. It is a Meyer Lemon and fruits on and off all the year round. Must go now a few things to sort out and a few emails to send before we leave. Regards and love to all Mavis NZ

Morning sylvia,just coming on to add a few lines before going out to tackle the hedge [gulp]it's all hanging out ,arms waiting to scratch me ,and tangle up the cutter and power line ,grrrrrr, that'le teach me to leave it so long. I can't even use the shredder because the long twigs keep clogging it up ,so it all goes in the bin which will upset the binmen,to which i say,IF your bosses would supply a garden rubbish bin i would use it ,so there, hee hee. I was intending to come on for a few minutes when i got in ,but when i walked into the lounge i foung the grandson had nicked the internet connection again ,you know ,the best laid plans of mice and men and all that. So anyway ,i tackled the young whipper snapper about it and now he puts my puter on last thing at night before he goes to bed,and i use mine all day until i go out at three to do the rounds,all sorted. He is home till the 28th of this month which incooperates his birth day and then i think he will be taking on a three year posting at Brize which means he can go onto days ,which will be better for him than the constant shifts he is on at the moment. It looks to be cool and windy outside at the moment so this fight with the hedge shouldn't be too bad,at least i won't heat up like the cutter does lol. Hope all you peeps are looking forward to your weekend,and if yours has started already ,spare a thought to people like our Brenda ,who dosn't seem to get any time off at all.see ya later.Fred.

Hi all, Just looked in and see that nobody has entered today. It is atrocious weather here with gale force winds and torrential rail and hail. I don't think I will be going to the market. I have made some bread and now will put on the washing machine. Always something to do. Have a nice day Sylvia xxx

Hi all, Grandchildren came this evening. I was cooking all day, making lots of different dishes to accompany rice and noodles, pieces of chicken on sticks with peanut sauce, Babi Panyang, (slices of pork in special sauce), beans in a peanut sauce, salad of lettuce, egg, tomatoe, onion, and another salad of cubes of cucumber in lemon and dill dressing. For a sweet I made a plum mousse. I feel a bit shattered now. My grandson who is a cook wants me to tell him how to make a Xmas pudding and then he can introduce it in the kitchen where he is then working. He starts a new job in September. He now seems to know what he wants as he is planning to stay just a year in this next job. My granddaughter who started work mid-december last year will be climbing the ladder too as her boss is leaving. She seems to have moved so fast. Linda, my granddaughter, came with an enormous bunch of flowers for me tonight. She is such a beautiful girl. She is going on holiday on Sunday and flying alone for the first time. Her girlfriend in Rhodos will meet her at the airport. Feels a bit scary with all these bomb scares, but we cannot sit still, life goes on. Di, Johan is a bit like your husband and always inventing things, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. The grandchildren and son in laws laugh at him. Isn't it nice that we can keep this thread friendly, just as the name says 'Friends'. When you hear all the trouble going on on the Board it makes me feel sick. Why do people behave like that I wonder. Now I will wish you all a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

Hello all, nice to see at least two friends from the Canada thread, Fred and Di. I'm Jood from the Blue Mountains out of Sydney, NSW, Australia. We down here are waiting for you to pass the warmer weather down our way for a change! .. Its been a very cold winter here, tho nowhere near as cold as you guys get it. Having an enforced day at home today, came down with a beaut of a cold, thought I'd be best to stay near the bed and rest. .. We have a meet in Sydney on Saturday, and I'm hoping to shake this cold off before then. .. There should be 14 of us. .. I've met all the girls bar one, before, and looking forward to catching up with them again. Cheers Jood

Hi all, Yes Sylvia, I have. He often needs someone to help when he cuts the wood strips, so I spent an hour this morning with my grungiest clothes on, a scarf around my head and a mask on, as carpenters mate!! John creates new gadgets to assist in the current job; real crazy inventor gadgets which Steve and Bernie pull his leg over, but they work pretty well. Sometimes not, and then we have some good funny stories to remember and laugh over later on; (when the wounds have healed or damage to property repaired!! lol) Anyway this morning we cut wood strips for the next stage,which is the deck, and the latest gadget worked really well with me controlling it! Steve handed me a 5lb bag of blueberries yesterday, and said if I made jam could he have a jar. So I spent this afternoon doing that; I used 3 1/2 lbs to make 4 pints, and I'm freezing the rest for muffins. We've been eating peas from the garden for the past week, and today some snap beans for a change, and judging by the amount of blossom on the scarlet runners we're going to have a bumper crop. I have little leek seedlings to put out for a Fall/Winter crop, and will probably also put in some garlic and broad beans for spring eating. Looks like our sunny weather is back again after a refreshing rain yesterday, but it's at least cooler than it was. So tomorrow I must get out and see what needs doing in the flower and shrub department. I've been spending a lot of time indoors sewing and doing jigsaws as it's been too hot to work or sit outside. I swap jigsaws with the older couple next door, and also buy some when I can at garage sales, so always have a good selection. When I say older couple, I'm not kidding myself I'm not old but they are older than me, early to mid 80s. I have 3 cushions to cut out to put together, a blue silk dress to make and a lovely piece of cotton/linen mix I bought online from a New York supplier to make a jacket for next spring, so have lots to do. I've cut back on my computer time for the sake of my hands and neck. My hands especially are getting quite bad with arthritis, and are growing little knobs on the joints here and there. So genealogy will have to take a back seat as it requires so much time on the computer. I'll leave it to my 2 second cousins now; I passed on all the info I had of our shared Jones relatives, so at least I know it's not wasted. It's good to see you're all well and as busy as ever. Take care all of you. Love Di.xxx

Hi Nice to see Fred is keeping up with us again,and hope he can sort out the electric board as well as all the other problems he sorts out so easily. Mavis its been a bit chilly here as well today ,windy and very grey skies,hope it bucks up again.Enjoy your visit to your daughters. Sylvia hope you impressed your granchildren with the meal you made them,we had unexpected guests just before I was going to make our tea.and they stayed a while,so we ended up with egg and sausgage with baked beans for tea. out tomorrow ,have to find a sixteth birthday present, see you all soon,brenda

Hi all, Yes Brenda, when all else fails read the instructions. Mind you I am not very good at that sort of thing on the computer. Not done very much today apart from lots of shopping. I have the grandchildren eating here tomorrow so have lots of food in the house. Don't know what I am going to cook, but as grandson is himself a cook, or at least learning to be one, have to watch my step! Haven't seen our Di for a few days, do you think she is helping with the Kayak? Don't have much energy today, so will say bye bye. Sylvia xxx