General Chat

Short and sweet peeps,took liz out to newbiggen this afternoon to sus out the beach for winter fishing and it looks good. Got home to find the puter had given up the ghost.so i have been loading all the gear onto the new one.I have most of the programmes back ,but still have to do the drivers for the printer,the cameras,and the cam [web] so i won't be around tomorrow. I am away to make sure i still have all my contacts ,so i will see you on Sunday hopefully .lol.Fred.

Hi all, Well just a few words from me. I was able to sit on the balcony today in the sun and actually fell asleep,,joy and bliss! Johan helped me in the kitchen with the dinner, but I'll be glad when I can do everything again myself as he is all fingers and thumbs in the kitchen. Annemie is going to do my ironing for me on Monday, so I put the washing machine on today. I was up to date with my washing, but of course there is dirty washing every day. I have taken all the packing off my scar and can see I have six stitches to be taken out. My hand is black and blue, which it wasn't the last time I had it done. Now everyone enjoy the sunshine. Sylvia xxx

Hi wveryonw, Its been lovely reading all your messages. Sylvia, Men do get bothered too. A few years back, I went to London for the weekend with my daughter, after a show we went back to the hotel bar and sat down and a man asked if he could sit on one of the chairs at our table. He looked very respectable and made interesting conversation. He insisted on buying us a drink and wouldn't let me buy him one back. At the end of the evening, I said I felt terrible accepting his drinks when he wouldn't let me buy one back. He said, you have been protection for me as I have been protection for you. Then he said goodnight and we never saw him again. A lad in my office said that he daren't go to the cinema on his own, he had done once and a girl sat by him and lifted her blouse, he was terrified that she was going to say he had molested her, he said that he couldn't get out of the cinema quick enough. I agree though, it is quite frightening, A few weeks ago, my granddaughter (age 20) was walking down to the shop in the evening,she phoned my daughter to say she thought that she was being followed. Gaynor kept talking to her while my son in law jumped in his car and went and picked her up and took her to the shop and brought her home.They phoned the police, who went out straight away, to look for this fellow, but couldn't find him. later that evening Gaynor and JOhn went out and saw him, then when they came back 2 hours later, he was there again.So again they phoned the police, they came out straight away and couldn't see him..The police came to the house and said, we are not giving up, we want a word with him, to see what he is up to. The next night,John saw him, so rang the police and this time they saw him and had a word. The suspect was actually, night watchman at a school that was being built, I dont know if there was anything on him but the police patrolled regularly and still do.The fellow hasn't been seen since outside the building area. We shouldn't have to be looking over our shoulders all of the time. but better safe than sorry. Brenda, I hope that backyard at the Library gets the sun to top up your tan. Tonight I have been out watering the plants again, there have only a couple of nights that I have been able to miss. I still have a few more plants to put into pots tomorrow, they are ones that John had grown from seed, so I had to go out and buy some more pots for the patio, to put them in. We have bought lupins, Foxgloves, Delphiniums that will come up each year, gradually we will have this big garden sorted. Last weekend, Gaynor and John had bought one of these big pools, so there was a great deal of fun, finished off with a lovely BBQ, Nick and his friend did the BBQ on the Saturday and John and Gaynor did the one on the Sunday. Sorry to have taken up so much of your time. See you soon. June xx

June,please do not apologise for such an interestig message.I am just so pleased your grand daughter was not harmed' I did not sit out at lunch after all,we had no small chairs that we could put out and the others are old and heavy,plus the little table that used to be used out side has been taken to another library . You sound to be really settling in the new house with pools and BBQS etc. Fred hope you sort out the pc ,I really must start to learn more anout them instead of just usuing them. Sylvia,hope your hnd continues to improve. Not sure when i will be on tomorrow,Take care Brenda

feels a bit like theMarie Celeste here tonight,been a bit wet here today but still warm,went to dads ,as usual,today .he was going out with my sister to my brothers after I had been. He had put on a new shirt that my brother had got him for fathers day,he looked lovelly. At the dentist tomorrow ,and possible meeting an old friend for coffe. Hope you all had a good weekend what ever you all did. .Brenda

Morning all,from a damp but promising north east where all is right with the world at the moment.lol. I had a good day at the son's apart from not taking the camera ,only to find the missus roping all the bairns in to play ring around the roses ,including Lewis who thought it was great , We did manage the b b q in between showers ,and even had some wraps filled with rice curry with diced potato ,which was unusual but very nice,and some nice pieces of chicken strip marinaded in a mild tikka sauce which went down very well. I am going to enjoy the puter as much as i can this week ,because the grandson will be back by the weekend for two weeks on leave before going back to brize awaiting his next posting in the u/k,we hope ,nearer than oxford. I gave up on the new puter after it froze ,wouldn't accept the epson printer and rounded off by blowing it's keyboard and mouse,so to all who are thinking of a new puter ,leave the dells alone ,they are far to restrictive in their software and are very temperamental. Fred stripped the power pack out and have now old faithfull back on line ,and what isn't compatible as spares from the dell has been thrown in the bin hee hee,good job it was a frfeebie from thegrandson or i would have been sending a nasty letter to the makers,still i suppose you only get what you pay for,and i did well with my own build ,still going after three years,though i have to say ,it's gone through some spare parts since booting up for the first time. Looks like the lawns need doing shortly ,once they have dried out but they can wait a while ,i am off to the metro centre today for a nose around. I'm glad old Liz has finished those ruddy tablets the doc' gave her,they did the job great ,but these past two weeks has been a cross between funny as hell ,and a nightmare ,i have been living with a red indian for over a week,she goes all blotchy and yuk as soon as she goes out in the sun,and was sitting on the beach with a long sleeve cardy on ,trousers and a farmer giles hat hee hee,but she kicked off when i got the camera out and wouldn't have any ,so i have no evidence to show you,mind you ,we got some funny looks ,and it wasn't ALL my 'orrible white knobbly knees [yuk] Mind you ,we had a chuckle last night when we realised we had been on the beach with our gear on all saturday afternoon ,and the sun still got to her face she now looks like something out of doctor who lol.but i HOPE it will fade before we go to town again. Off for a look around the boards now,take it easy you lot and dream about your hol's which ain't far off now,and then we can look forward to? Christmas lol.Fred.

Hi everyone. Brenda - our new Library is great but as you said the new ones are so cold and uninteresting. Wonderful selection of books, cd's dvd's etc. Very mopdern building - doesn't really fit in with the surroundings. Fred - Dell computers are being sold at 'special' prices here. They have been unable to sell them. You have such a wonderful selection of vegies Fred. I think you really enjoy your garden. Di - How is John? He does seem to be taking a while to come right. Pip is pretty good at the moment but tomorrow is another day!!! Your photo's were great - thanks so much. I will get around to sending you some of mine eventually!! Sylvia - hope your op has worked this time. It is so frustrating when you are unable to do the jobs yourself. June - Your garden will be wonderful when you have finished. I love Delphiniums. The weather here is soooooo cold at the moment. We have lived in NZ for 13 years now and this is the coldest here in Papamoa that we can remember. No central heating!! Just oil radiators and fan heaters. Normally that would be enough but not at the moment. The wind is biting cold. Babysat last night for my daughter. Sleyd, the little foster boy is walking all the time now. Wasn't too happy when I put him to bed!! Eventually he settled. Our two grandsons are great company. 14 and 16 now. Very interesting. Must go now. It is 11 p.m. We have the electric blankets on!!!!! Bye for now. Mavis NZ

Afternoon everyone,from a wet and very chilly Manchester,the weather has changed again and is likley to remain like this for a few days apparently. Was at the dentist to day and have to have two old fillings renewed this are white fillings which because they are at the bottom I had done in white so they would be less noticable,I was told they don't last as long as the others but its not been that long and some of the old silver ones are still ok.Due to them not lasting and the cost £42.00 for two silver ansd a scale and polish, if I have the white it will be £40.00 each as they. will be private.Have not got that sort of money to keep having them done so its the silver. Been trying to find some cheap flights to tenerife for some friends of our but without much luck. Will go and have another go, Brenda

Hi everyone, Well I took Johan to the hospital this morning with a taxi. He is in a room with two old ladies and a young man. I don't think he will be pleased with these two old ladies, especially if they talk non stop. I don't think they will be pleased with his snoring, so am sitting here alone having a laugh. Mind you have felt a bit lonely this evening when watching football and wanted to say something then realised that I was alone. Real strange feeling. When I came back from the hospital I found that Annemie had done my ironing for me. Isn't it nice to have good neighbours? All being well I can fetch Johan in the morning, but they will phone me first. I didn't go and visit Johan this evening as it is a long way for such a short time and he is not really ill. It has been a real scorcher again today, but this evening a nice breeze came up. Now will contact you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Just a quick message,as I am trying to sort out some space ,wet ,windy and cols again today. Sylvia ,hope Johan was ok at the hospital,hope you slept ok without him there. Hope everyone else is ok ,Brenda

Only a short message to say hello to everyone. Have been fortunate enough to knock a few holes in one of my brickwalls and found some more relatives in Australia though haven't been able to do a lot online as when I do manage to get some time on the computer the wretched thing starts playing up. Think it's aol and not the computer though. Thanks Di for the photo's - I envy your lovely garden. I'm now cutting out some of the shrubs that have outgrown their space and finding loads of nettles & bramble underneath. I do hope that John starts to feel better soon, it sounds as though his doctors have been rather negligent. Hope your hand is recovering well from the op Sylvia and that Johan is soon back home feeling much better. Fred and Liz (what a patient lady she is!!), Mavis, June, Brenda and everyone else sorry no time for any more - No.2 son home for his dinner now. No.1 son had his 3 hours ago and has gone to work until 7 am. Have a good day/evening/night and God bless Love Kathleen

Good morning peeps ,from a windy ,but sunny Newcastle,on my revitalised puter. We had a trip to town yesterday followed by calling in at a garden centre where Liz boght a few more plants,and a rose for the corner of the back garden outside the back door next to the headless asparagus hee hee,a lice bi colour climer which Liz wants trained along the fence. I spent nearly all last evening putting the finishing touches to the rockery with a half dozen new alpines of various types and colours,and put in six scardy cat plants to cover the far end of the garden which is ouside the range of the cat scarer,phew ,i aint supprised the cats don't like going near them ,they don't half honk.lol. Liz and i are going to the sports day meeting at the school Chris goes to so i hope it's going to stay fine for it ,but there will be no broken records this time because it's so windy. The grandson should be home on Friday seeing as his relief flies out today ,so i need to do all my puter work by then or i will be in bother hee hee. Must get on now ,things to do ,hope you are all looking forward to the weekend now ,be back soon .Fred.

Hi all,. Just a quick peep in here after watching football all evening. Yes, my hand is recovering and the stitches come out next Tuesday. Johan is home. They couldn't find anything wrong with him this time and said his intestines look the same as last time, so ok. We are now trying to get away for a week before the long hot summer????? comes. Have a good evening. Sylvia xxx

Wasn't going to come on here as I just wanted my bed as i am tired,but needed to check for an email from a friend ,(which hasn't arrived)so popped on as we weren't far on the list. Miserable day with terrible winds and rain today,hope its better at weekend as its my saturday off. Glad Johan was ok Sylvia and that your hand is recovering. Fred,that garden will not have another space for anything at this rate ,it must be blooming lovelly.!!! Hi Kathleen,glad you got a break in your brick wall.nice to hear from you . Brenda

Weather bit drier today ,but really windy.It is supposed to be better at weekend,but not by much !!! Working at 4-8pm today,but after doing the weekly shop,buying birthday cards and presents , sorting out washing ,ironing and the Bins (we have different bins for different things,paper ,glass etc which are collected on different days in different weeks)! I am shattered already< so will probably will ready for bed when I get home. Hope everyone is ok ,Brenda

Hi everybody, Haven't looked at the computer for the past few days as I was so busy, and then when I sat down was so tired I fell asleep. Bernie bought herself a mini sundress with a flounced skirt, but as she doesn't like short skirts she also got a skirt, thinking to herself it would be easy for me to combine the two and make a long dress. Firstly they were black, gauzy crinkly fabric, which I hate sewing, secondly the skirt was cut in about 12 panels, very flared, and so hard to convert to 2 x 12' flounces. I have not been a happy bunny the past few days, but I have done it as best as I can, and we're both very glad that I'm my normal sweet-tempered self again; well, that may be an exaggeration, but I'm better anyway! Tuesday we went to a nearby island, over a little one lane bridge, and onto a delightful area of lovely homes on open fields, most of them fruit farms, a most beautiful, peaceful place; I'd love to live there. anyway, we bought a flat of strawberries and made 12 pints of sugarless strawberry jam, and it's delicious, the best jam I've ever made, and guilt-free as it's sugarless. The recipe was on the following website, if anyone feels like making jam, either with or without sugar. It's the best recipe I've ever used. http://www.pickyourown*org*/jam.htm or /jamnosugar.htm We had a good day Sunday, Father's Day. Sue came over and John did dinner on his new barbecue, and we sat outside in the sunshine and enjoyed a good chat. Sue is so happy in her new job and is thinking of moving to be closer to work to a nice family area in the eastern area of Vancouver, on a slight rise looking over the water to the north shore mountains. While driving round the area she saw a hospice, and stopped to enlist as a volunteer, so once she's been cleared as not having a criminal record, she'll be doing something else she really loves, talking to and helping others in need. Once she's settled into all of that she'll be able to think about her courses again, to become a qualified councellor, which she had to put on hold at least temporarily. John has an appointment with an internist on Wednesday next, highly recommended by our GP, and he has an office locally where he holds a clinic one day a week, so we don't have to go chasing across town this time, just a 10 minute, if that, drive. Also John has met him as he checked in on him in hospital when he had Sepsis. John is a lot happier now that he knows he will be in a different heart specialist's hands. Sylvia, I hope your hand is feeling a lot better now. You must be feeling really frustrated not to be able to do the things you enjoy like embroidery and card making, not to mention housework...okay I won't mention it!! Glad to hear that Johan is given a clean bill of health, too. Hi Kathleen, good to see you back again. Hi too Fred, Brenda, June and Mavis. Well, must go do the dishes. We had strawberries for tea, and they are so good this year. Love to you all. Di.xxx

Hi everyone. Lots to read tonight! You have all been so busy. Still very cold here - more snow down the bottom/middle of North Island. Went out for dinner last night with the girls. Went to the Kwang Chow - ate too much!! But it was delicious. Not able to do any gardening as the wind is soooo cold. Watched the semi finals of the Netball tonight - next Friday is the final - our local team Magic are in the finals playing Sting. Very close match tonight - had to play extra time. Pip is enjoying the football - bores me a little i'm afraid. Have been doing some cross stitch today - almost finished. Have to then finish a cardigan I started a 'long time' ago. Shortened a pair of trousers for Pip today - how I hate doing that. Always nervous when I chop the bottom off!! He was pleased however. All for now. Regards to you all. Mavis

Hi folks,what a load of messages from all over the place,. Well ,i hope everyone is set for the weekend and have plans for chilling out. I wen't out this morning ,got all the hedges trimmed ,fed the gardens and lawns ,and then backed the car as close to the wall as possible to leave Sean room to get his car into the drive,there is just room lol. I was sitting out back earlier today ,in the sun with a coffee and suddenly my back garden beame like piccadily circus,we had about fifteen starlings arrive ,three thrushes ,two blackbirds ,a magpie and our little mouse all came out together ,i did manage to get a few photos of the mellee so i hope they come out. Sean got back yesterday morning but was so tired after a full shift ,a ten hour flight and disimbarcation to even think about starting back,so he stayed on camp yesterday and started the journey home this morning. We will be taking the bairns for the first picnis of the summer while he is home so he can give us a hand on the beach with them lol.his legs are younger than ours. Must be off now ,to see to the tea,steak and kidney pie with all the trimmings,a request from Sean ,sick of eating chicken for three months whilst on station in Iraq. Boy ,how times have changed,when i was in the middle east we were looked after very well ,the meals were as good as any camp in this country,pork ,beef and lamb on the menu as well as fish ,fresh veg and fruit,but it seems as though all the cooks can do these days is chicken,well thats the yanks for you too much trouble to do any decent food it would seem. See you all later,Fred.

Hello everyone,came on two hours ago and started a message,was called to the phone ,and then had to start tea,so message got sent into cyber space I think or the part of the message I had written,as my son just came in while I was making tea,he will normally ask what to do with anything i might leave open but not tonight as he was in a hurry to get an email to his mate who was still at work. We have had a nice day sunny ,dry, but windy again.Hope it is dry and warm tomorrow. Glad to see you are all happy, fred I still haven't seen your garden,hope you can manage to try and send at least one piccie before your pc is taken over by your granson.!! Di,hope John is sorted out by this new doctor,what luck that he comes to your neck of the woods. Mavis,we have had some rain this week over here and also some very strong winds ,it was really cold at times and looked more like November than June. (not forgetting mid summers day on the 21st.} Have to go now the washer needs emptying and refilling ,!!! See you all soon,Brenda

Hi from canada just was reading the bury times on line and was stopped in my tracks, I used to live at 82 high st walshaw some 50 yrs back and when my parents emigrated over here they sold the house for around 1200 pounds, next to use one lane way over was bently hall manor a nice property but not all that grand, well it is for sale for 1.25 million pounds can you credit it, but it does have one draw back the circular drive only hold 10 cars. when I was home 18 months ago I was by the house and while it looked nice this price I do not understand. I am well aware that real estate prices have gone up and up in that area but still this semms a bit out of line. I am coming home again next year for my 65th birthday if it is not sold by then maybe I should mention to my son that would make a grand birthday gift!!!! bye for now dorothy