General Chat

Good morning Mel,and all.

Horrible rainy weather here. I said to Ros. It's here for the day, by the look of things.

I haven't heard from Lewis as yet. So will give him a ring. Eos thought a nice pair of CUFFLINKS would be nice. (Does anyone use them these days ??) I can't remember the last time I did. I have gold, silver and various others in the wardrobe,just sitting there.

Ann, I was like you as a youngster at school, I was like a sponge. Anything to do with maths, I was there and excelled. General knowledge was another subject I just couldn't get enough of. In those days, we weren't given homework, but I use to ask the teachers to set me some. As for further education, that was right out of the door. I left school on my 15th birthday 22nd December, and started work on December the 27th as a trainee Wood machinist on ELEVEN PENCE FARTHING an hour for a 48 hour week. From that I paid me fares, and my board, so left me with sod all.

Vera, You mentioned ROY'S. When in the RAF for National Service I was stationed at OLD CATTON, Norwich. As a very keen fisherman, I spent many hours fishing at Wrexham. There was ROY'S of Wroxham, that owned numerous shops there. I assume they are still the same ROY's now.

That was a lovely dream Mel, what a pity you never got to the fruit before th Guineapigs. lol lol

I am getting emails from people, asking about the funeral arrangements for Jean, who lived opposite me. How or why, I should know, I just can't understand. She was just a neighbour, who we rarely spoke too.

Nice to see our Jane popping in. I do hope she makes a good progess after her treatment. xxx

Those Helicopters are the CHINOOKS. They are so big, and the noise is almost deafening. At one of the bases I was stationed at had the "V" bombers, when a squadron of those took off the ground literally shock. There were lots of those bombers around in the 50s and 60s With the cold war going on. I am pleased to say, I never got involved in anything nasty, and never left EAST ANGLIA. Whereas some were lucky enough to be sent to far away places, such as the Christmas Islands, in the middle of the South Pacific. My brother Ted, was posted there with the Royal Engineers. He was a STONE MASON, and built the first and only church on that island.

I think I have rambled on enough this morning, I will leave you to enjoy the rest of your day. xxxx

Morning Mel, morning all,

Sun shine and showers here today and down it came just as I went to hang the bath sheets out .

Ann I love the painting and hope it does well in the competition ,your a very good painter ,how long did it take you to do ?

Mel what a strange dream :-D the bit where the guinea pigs turned up made me laugh.

Not a lot happening here I've hoovered through and cleaned the downstairs bathroom ,done a bit of ironing and now stopped for coffee then I'll find another job no doubt .

I meant to say Ann I looked at the felting the lady did of the Owl the other Sunday and saw she was going to do the mouse ,I must remember to watch again .

Morning all,

Another greyish day but there seem to be brighter patches. Ita not raining yet.

Doc is going to ring me today but I don't know about what time.

Nothing to report but I dreamt I was having to go somewhere and catch a train and be taken by car to the station but the driver turned up and had a sleep in our bed and when I went in to see if he was awake and looked out the window there was a little drum shaped pear tree covered in huge pears and as I looked they all fell off at once so I had to rush around there with an apron on to gather them up before this heard of guinea pigs ate them. Came in the kitche and mum said I would be late for my train if I did'nt go now. Then I woke up.

A lovely picture Ann and yes I recognised it as the photo of you on your pony. You are vry good with that brush and I hope you get some where with it in the competition.

Good to hear from you Jane. I hope the cold cap helps. It sounds as though you enjoyed your bit of retail therapy.

When we were going through our photos recently there was one of me with our new born granddaughter. I am wearing a pale blue top. I am still wearing that top and that baby granddaughter will be 23 tomorrow! I really must get some new clothes but I absolutely detest shopping.

I thought I would brave the shops today - first the bank to deposit a cheque, then Roy’s for some compost and a couple of other bits, then Sainsbury’s for bread and milk. The bank was fine. I walked in, popped my envelope in the Quick Deposit box and walked out. Roy’s had a queue up the road outside so we gave that a miss and went to Sainsbury’s. The queue there was going round the car park. I couldn’t face it so we came home. What a waste of time.

Well done to Lewis. You must be very proud of him Frank.

It rained really heavily during the night and we’ve had showers on and off all day. It still feels very heavy and humid

We’ve had those big military helicopters flying over several evenings running. It’s always at about 6 pm and usually there seem to be 3 though tonight I saw 4. They are really loud. I assume it’s some sort of training exercise, probably flying from Wattisham which is quite close to us.

I’ve had a headache all day but it has been getting worse during the evening so I’m going to close the computer down and rest my eyes. Sleep well folks.

Evening All,

More heavy rain today and some thunder. We watched the little birds darting from cover under the shrubs to look for grubs etc while we had lunch. The tall hedge in the field had the usual Pigeon occupants at the top, even when it was pelting down with rain.

No sign of a genius here Vera, but it sounds as if you were! I was at a tiny village school, 2 classes of about 15 with us all doing work at different stages. I think they just gave me the test because I could do all the maths that would be in the test and could read quite well, nothing more than that. My parents had no interest in education, I was told by my father as soon as I went to grammar school, that I wouldn't be going to university and this was repeated when I passed 9 '0' levels all at once. I had been naive enough to think he would change his mind if I did well. So I left as there was no hope and I had virtually nothing but my school uniform to wear and much pressure to be working and paying my way! Educating girls was a waste according to him and needing to do revision meant you 'weren't up to it'. He tried to stop me doing my homework too till my mother intervened, but wouldn't let me do it in a quiet room as the light would waste electricity. :-S I feel sorry for those in similar situations or who are fearful at home as I was, but not for those who just waste their opportunities. I am a July baby which meant I was always the youngest in my class. As you say, who knows how things would turn out on a different path, but I couldn't have had a wider range of work and experience of life with the path I did take. Enough of me and my miserable early past, it doesn't pay to waste much time dwelling on them, now and the future are what matter. :-)

We tried another, bigger garden centre after collecting our prescriptions, but there was a long queue so away we came. I will order what I want on line I think.

I hope you get another reasonable night Frank. Your Ros is a wonder to me with all she gets done too. Is she still knitting for the baby and sewing the scrub bags as well as all the gardening?

I finished my painting and have sent a pic. It is 'loosely' based on a photo of me aged 19ish. It had to be 'loosely' as I find it so hard to get a likeness. :-) Next I can start the felted mouse at the weekend as I have an on line photography session in the morning and a zoom meeting with friends in the afternoon and need to do my Asda order as well. It seems to come round quicker each time.

That's good your arm is beginning to get better Mel. Yes, I can get a day or two of tummy cramps, even taking antis with food, so you should be ok now. I bet you are glad to see some improvement.

We had trouble with SKY last night Gill. It suddenly froze and the colour went bluer and milky which hasn't happened with the colour before. I thought it was another of the tvs gone wrong at first but when I switched it on later it was back to normal. It must have been the storms I think. I hate the lightning when the thunder is straight after as I know it's close then.

Hubby was told he will have his appointment within 2 weeks, the standard time for urgent referrals Vera.

Is it the longest day on Sunday..........the year is whizzing by?

O I forgot to congratulate Lewis on his achievemnet. He's such a good lad. I wonder what he will ask for his present.

We've seen him grow up hav'nt we? He feels like one of our thread family. xx

Evening all,

Well we seem to have got away with the thunder and lightning the last few days ,we have had a very wet morning but this afternoon we've sat out and enjoyed the sun shine .

Jane so nice to see you popping in and to hear the treatment yesterday went ok ,i hope the side affects won't be to bad for you .
I remember seeing them using one of those cold caps on a television programme a while ago and thought at the time brrrr but if it's going to help keep your hair you've got to give it a go ,how long did you have to wear it ?
That was a good shop yesterday :-D

Mel that's good your arm is now beginning to feel better ,it does take a while i suppose for the tablets to start to kick in ,who would think that a tiny little tick could cause all that nasty swelling in your arm ,i'm glad it's now on the mend .

Well done to Lewis you must be so proud of him Frank ,i wonder what he will think of that you could treat him too .
Enjoy your scone later ,we had Chicken Curry tonight too.

Ann i hope OH soon hears from the hospital about an appointment ,i find my hay fever gives me a dry throat so hopefully it's the same with him and it's nothing to worry about .

Yesterday when i went to boots i called into a charity shop only because there was no one in there if there had been a queue i wouldn't have gone in, i bought six pretty tea cups ,saucers and tea plates all for £2 !!!
I thought it was just the thing for Lacey's afternoon tea :-D when they done with them i can take them back for them to sell again .

I can see i have tiny cues and tomatoes now in the green house and the radishes are coming through now also the Lettuce but no sign yet of the spring onions .

O lovely to hear from Jane and she has had some retail therapy too. She'll enjoy wearing those new tops and slacks. I had'nt heard of the cold cap either so thats a new one on me too.

Well it has rained all day here and I don't know if you remember me telling you that a neighbour bought the field next to us a couple of years ago and cut down some huge conifers along the side of his garden to open out onto the field. He piled two big piles down in the field opposit out garden and said he would burn it in the winter then the spring. Well today was the day. There was no wind at first and then later the breeze came up but none of the smoke came over ours. Oh was worried it would come our way with lots of ash and go in the ponds but it been ok. They started them thismorning and they are still going now. Em next doors brother has done it forJim and Jane and he is going to farm the field for silage so it will get three cuts a year after being ploughed and seeded so it should be quite nice.

I have cooked the rice for tonights dinner, chinese with oh's special fried rice which he cooks beautifully. The other bits go in the micro so day off for me cooking wise.

Those poor people who's houses were hit by lightening AnnG and Frank, nice to know no one was hurt which is the main thing, but those poor people who came back to find their house burnt to the ground must have been devastated, what a shock that must of been. I hope they didn't have any pets in there, it doesn't bare thinking about does it?

I've not heard of those cold caps before Jane, I hope they work and you don't lose your hair. Apart from that it sounds like everything went to plan. I hope you don't have to many side effects over the next few days. It sounds like you had a great time shopping with Hannah, that's the best medicine for your mental health, good idea not to do it to often though, if your immune system isn't up to par. Rest up and take care <3 <3 <3

I hope the flooding isn't to bad by you AnnG, the rain is even heavier here now, but thankfully no more thunder and lightening, it was a bit scary last night when the electric was playing up, we had a torch ready just in case, but thankfully didn't need it in the end.

Congratulations to Lewis Frank, how proud are you now :-D :-D I wonder what he'll pick as a present off you and Ros, you're both so thoughtful, I can see how much you love him. Enjoy your scone later and remember to leave your scar alone, it'll heal quicker. So it's chicken curry courtesy of Ros, that'll give you a night off. ;-)

Good afternoon all,

SO NICE to SEE YOU JANE. Glad everything went to plan, just take things easy, and DO AS YOU ARE TOLD. (some hope) lol lol I bet it was nice to do a shop and see Hannah. How is she enjoying her www home ??

Caroline had invited us round for a COT and scones. I didn't feel like being sociable, so Ros has gone on her own. Nicola has just called, she has bought round TWO SCONES (one each) that she has just made.I will have mine later this evening.

I don't know if I mentioned, Lewis has his results from his exams. He has done exceptionally well, and might have letters behind his name for passing one of them. BSC or something like that. I have Emailed him and said we would like to buy him something as a momento, and is there anything in particular that he would like. As yet I haven't had a reply. I am so proud of that boy. He is the first child ever, in the family to have gone to University, and possible, have letters behind his name, I will certainly buy him a pint when the pubs open. lol lol

Chicken curry for tonight, which Ros will make. She always does a better one than I can do.

I see in the paper today, that a house was burnt to the ground, from a lightning strike yesterday. Those poor people, luckily no-one was at home at the time. Lets hope they were insured.

It's been a really miserable day today, (a bit like me) I just want to be left on my own, and do my own thing. The scar on my forehead is starting to irritate me. It's taking all my willpower to keep my hands off it.

Have an enjoyable afternoon, whats left of it. and I will see you all tomorrow. I hope you sleep well tonight, especially Jane. xxxx

Jane, great to see you on here. wow! you had a good shop and I am sure it was a real boost to your morale. So far the only 'shops' we have been in are at garden centres. You didn't fancy joining the queues for Primark on Monday then??? Awful weren't they.

I am pleased the treatment itself was ok, I know it is the after effests that are the problem so I hope they are not too bad. Yes I have read about the cold cap, hope it works for you. I can imagine the first few minutes are quite painful with it.

You take care now, come back when you are able to but meanwhile rest and TLC for you <3 <3

Afternoon All
Just checking in to say all went fine yesterday.I feel fine today.Ot is usually a few days later that any side effects will hit.
Yesterday I decided that I just had to get out as over 3 months of being locked down was just driving me nuts so first thing this morning we drove over to M&S where we met Hannah and I had a good shop.Bought 6 tops and a pair of trousers plus a good food shop.Ot was the hour for the vulnerable and there were very few people.i think the torrential rain might have had something to do with that.So I have finally had my fix :-D
Now it will be at least another couple of weeks before I venture out like that again as my immune system will take a tumble after the chemo yesterday.

Mel I am so pleased to see the Antibiotics seem to have kicked in now and all that nasty infection is getting less.
Ann I Hope OH doesn’t have too long a wait for his hospital appointment.Hopefully it is nothing to worry about.As you say hay fever could be something to do with his trouble
But better to get checked out.
Thank you again everyone for thinking of me yesterday. I looked a real honey as o am trying out something called a cold cap which is something that can possibly help hair loss.It is like a skull cap which freezes the scalp and I have to say for the first 15 mins it was really quite unpleasant as it was like having that pain when you eat ice cream!!.Bit then my head felt quite numb.It was a relief to have the cap taken off at the end of my treatment.I shall have this now each time I have the chemo.Next time in 3 weeks.
I must have some lunch and take my steroids.

Good afternoon all.

It has rained almost all night and all morning and is still raining so it can stop now the garden has had enough, everything looks sorry for itself and bedraggled.
Gill yes we are forecast rain for the rest of the day, hopefully no more storms though. There was a house hit by lightening in Cheltenham yesterday nobody hurt and not too much damage thankfully. Lots of roads flooded round here takes me back to the awful floods in July 2007

Mel, pleased to hear the antibiotics seem to be working. Ooh naughty, never take them without food. Well you won't again will you? Hope it continues to improve

Jane hope all went well for you yesterday and that you don't feel too rough today.

Frank, good that you had a good night, I slept well last night too. Isn't it a good job we like reading, that and gardening has been a Godsend these past few months.

Annx The digital prescription we belong to at our surgery is called The Pathway. However, in our case (both of us), it is only the regular prescriptions we have on that. If we need antibiotics we still need to see the doctor first and then the prescription is automatically sent to the pharmacy.

Good to see you writing your 'book' on here again Vera. wonder why it went on a trip round the universe before it posted though.
I was some months under 11 years old when I took the scholarship so when I went to high school I was a lot younger than my classmates. I never eally caught up though, I believe we got extra points for being under age and i think although I was bright enough to answer the questions (only 3 of us passed in our school that year),correctly I was not mature enough to cope with the change to a different type of education.I didn't do very well at school and only got 2 O levels, English Grammar and RI! but as an adult I took and passed three more O levels, sociology, Accounts and Law and one GCSE Economics. And two A levels English Literature with grammar (combined paper) Grad A pass and Law, so the brain needed a bit longer to develop.

Morning all

It's raining here and has been since I got up, so the garden is happy. All we need to water is the tomatoes in the greenhouse.

It sounds like your antibiotics are starting to work now Mel, that must be a relief. I've just watched the weather and it looks like the west coast is going to have rain most of the day, so that's you and me not being able to go outside in our gardens. It may even cross over towards the east as well.

I hope Jane is feeling okay today, I've been thinking of her and hoping her treatment went well.

Yes, I noticed Dame Vera Lynn had passed away Frank she was 103 years old, so a good age.

We had problems with our electric with a massive thunder storm with lots of lightening last night. I thought it best to switch my laptop off, better to be safe than sorry. Sky went off and also our set top box, not for long thankfully, so all my programmes recorded okay, apart from one that will have a bit missing in the middle with losing power. They say the thunder storms are going to be with us for a while yet along with lots of rain.

Going to get something to eat now then catch up with a few recording incase Sky goes off again. Thankfully at the moment we only have the rain and no lightening.

Good morning AUNTIE MEL, and all my friends.

I had a reasonable night, last night. Only got out once, and slept till 9.00 am. With the curtains drawn, and a dull morning, it just didn't seem to get light.

What sad news about our VERA LYNN passing away. I certainly bought a lump to my throat. I just loved her songs., As a child, I remember sitting on the floor listening to her singing, all the World War favourites. Another part of our history gone.

I was thinking of our Jane this morning. I hope her treatment went off well. Love nd HUG from me xxx

What are you all up to today. As for me,I will have my nose in my book,with my feet up.

Ros wants to give me a haircut (she use to be a hairdresser) but I said NO, I will let it grow, until I go to see Asha whenever they re-open.

Stocks and wall flowers were always a firm favourite, when I did my own garden. Always a lovely scent as you walked passed them.

Very fine rain here now. So it looks settled for the day.

See you all later. xxxx

Morning all,

Its a proper grey day here this mroning and no sign of the yellow stuff at all and its raining lightly.

Just having some toast so i can take my pill.

I wanted to tie in the clematis today but if it stays wet I won't do it.

Did you all get some well earned sleep last night?

Love to Jane and we are all with you and thinking of you. Best wishes and gentle hugs. <3 <3 <3

I hope Jane is comfortable tonight. Sending hugs and kisses and prayers. <3 <3 <3

I rang the receptionist this afternoon and told her all about the tummy upset etc and the doc rang me back and said she will ring me again on Friday. I was taking them without having anything to eat and I think thats what upset my tummy. I have also taken them today with four hours between and after food and feel much better now. Still burping quite a lot but the redness is starting to go and its not itchy today and not as hot to the touch. So with all that I think I am on the mend at last.

We had rain all afternoon and the sky was still grey as it got dark.

I used to love the smell of wallflowers too. A sort of musky old fashioned scent. Mum loved them and we always had some but now the rabbits eat them as they are the cabbage family. Mu who sells plants down the shop usually has some bare rooted ones so I may buy some if she has them this year and put them in a pot up on the patio with some bulbs underneath. I have some tete a tete that coud go in and some nice big pots with nothing in.

Poor G with his croaky voice. As you say he must have worn it out with all his chattering.

Vera good your leccy stayed on but not so good you had the thunder all afternoon. That can give you a headache too. I used to get headaches when there was an electric storm about but don't seem to anymore.
Hope Frank gets a good nights sleep tonight and AnnG and Vera. Its a bit muggy here tonight but I think I should be able to sleep through it. We have the window open at night but that means I have to dust the window sills every day as oh always has the telly on until I come to bed when I turn it off.

I give up: I've written the rest of my post on Word but it won't paste on here for some reason. I have saved it so I'll attempt to post it in the morning. Night, night.

EDIT: What's happening? It seems to have now appeared

I’m glad you’ve contacted the docs again Mel. That bite doesn’t sound at all good. You can’t take any chances with these things.

The chiropody people rang today to say they are soon opening up again and did I want an appointment? I haven’t made one yet but I will ring them tomorrow to set one up as it won’t be till the 2nd or 3rd week in July.

I hope your OH’s problems can be sorted out quickly Ann. Will he have to wait long for his hospital appointment? It does sound a bit like hayfever doesn’t it? I’ve also heard an expert saying that meeting outdoors is much safer than indoors which is why we will only be in daughter’s garden at the weekend. I won’t be taking my own chair and plate etc. as it’s close family and I know daughter will be doubly careful, though I might have a small pack of wipes in my handbag in case I feel the need for a surreptitious wipe down.

The discussion about keeping children back a year is a difficult one, some will benefit, some won’t. Even the most conscientious child with good technology and supportive parents is unlikely to have been able to do the required amount of work. Can you imagine watching an online lesson with your teacher talking at you knowing that you are supposed to write an essay on what you have learnt. There is no interaction with the others and no class discussion. You have a query about something the teacher said so you have to email him/her after the lesson and wait for their reply which may be some time later. Is it any wonder if the kids lose enthusiasm? Lockdown has affected them and their mental health as much as it has ours and we have expected an awful lot from them.

OK, rant over. Ann, you must have been a genius to take the 11+ at 7! I was considered very young when I took it at 9 and went to grammar school at 10. I was a full year younger than the rest of my class which wasn’t a problem till school leaving. All my friends were 18 and going on to uni or training colleges. Unis mostly didn’t take you until you were 18, unless you were a real genius, and I was only 17. Also in those days there were no student loans; you had what I think was called a Major County Grant but you couldn’t get this till you were 18. No-one had heard of gap years then so they didn’t know what to do with me. The school suggested a third year in the sixth form which I refused as I already had 4 A-Levels. In the end my headmistress got me on to an intensive 6 months secretarial course which was designed for graduates and I drifted into office work. I’ve often wondered what I would have been doing if I hadn’t taken the 11+ early.

By late afternoon I was so tired that I laid on the bed and slept for well over an hour. I never sleep during the day so I must really have needed it. I felt better when I woke up and the thunderstorm had cleared the air a lot so it wasn’t so heavy and humid, but it’s getting that way again now so I reckon we might be in for more thunder and rain soon.

I see I have written half a book again so I had better stop. I hope you all have a good night and wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed.

OH's cough finally went just after the lockdown, it's his voice going a bit croaky some days especially in the evenings that he is left with now. I tell him he's worn it out with all the chattering he does!

That's good you managed to leave a message at the doctor's Mel. I bet it feels hot as well as itchy. I know my wasp stings did that time. Hopefully you will soon get some different antibiotics. I bet it was them that affected your tum. Some do mine for the first few days and then they are ok.

I spoke too soon as it tipped it down this afternoon after lunch! We'll be getting floods next at this rate.

AnnG I have just been reading about your system of electronic repeat dispensing of prescriptions where you get a 6 month batch sent to the pharmacy. I hadn't heard of it before you mentioned it but it is available in England . For anyone else interested it says to look on 'digital.nhs.uk' and put 'explaining electronic repeat dispensing to patients' in the search box. I haven't looked myself yet but thought I'd ask you what happens, say if you needed a one off prescription of antibiotics?

Vera Wallflowers are one of my favourites for scent. I don't have them now as our garden is small, but I suppose they would be great in a large pot and also closer to the nose! I have got some night scented stock all in flower at the moment, but you have to be close to smell them. I see you have also had some of this rain! Did you finish sorting your photos? It will be a nice trip at the weekend for the birthday barbecue and see someone other than our OH's!

I think it's sensible to be careful Gill. We won't go where there are queues now as it means the maximum number of people are inside where the risk is greater anyway. It isn't as enjoyable when you have to keep an eye on everyone else all the time.

OH is watching the footie so I think I will have an early night as I was still tired when I woke up this morning.

Evening all

Our leccy did stay on but it was one heck of a storm and lasted about an hour. It sounded as if the thunder was right overhead, though I didn't see any lightening. During the rest of the afternoon we have had the odd rumble of thunder and some heavy showers.

I hope your day hasn't been too tiring Jane. Do you now have a break or have you got another session tomorrow? Rest as much as you can and let your lovely family take care of you. Sending a gentle (((hug))) <3

I’m glad you seem to be feeling a bit better Frank but try and rest and not overdo it. It sounds as though Ros is making sure that you don’t do too much. I’m full of admiration for the way she keeps going, particularly in the garden. I wish I had her stamina. I can only garden for a little while at a time and I haven’t had as many medical problems as Ros. I take my hat off to her, or I would if I ever wore a hat :-)

I don't know if it is Genes or more likely my computer but I keep getting a Not Responding message so I am going to try and submit this post and carry on in a new one.