General Chat

sounds like they are playing safe with the Christmas rush but odds on it is coming from China Vera.

Yes I will take all precautions, Hand gel in my bag, mask on and doing my best to maintain social distancing.

Do hope the works are not delayed that will be annoying for you.
And I can smell your mince pies, throw one over please.

Three of us Mel. We had a heavy shower just a little while ago but it’s all melted already. I had a dozen mince pies cooking at the time so the warm kitchen with the smell of the pies and the snow outside made it feel quite festive.

I’m praying we won’t get much snow or rain for the next couple of days as our road is closed for resurfacing till Saturday. It’s not our little cul-de-sac which is a private road, but the narrow road we turn out of that just goes down to the Community Centre. We were warned in advance that we wouldn’t be able to get in or out for 2 days but if the workman are delayed by bad weather we could be stuck here for longer.

It’s my son’s birthday today. How can my baby be 55 already?

AnnG, take sensible precautions and then go and enjoy your lunch. We mustn’t make light of Covid and we must be cautious but I don’t think we should run scared or we will never get back to any sort of normal life.

I am just going to phone my friend to tell her that her diamond anniversary present for her husband has been dispatched and will be delivered here on 3rd January :-S. Where’s it coming from? Timbuktu?

Mel, I might have not gone had I not had the message. the men ( there are only about 4 men among 25+ women) will now take notice and will have to wear masks when not sitting so that is ok. I am determined not to wrap myself in cotton wool, this year has been hard enough on my own without T without incarcerating myself in the house. this new variation of covid has proved to be mild especially as I have been triple jabbed. I am probably more bothered by the various cold bugs around.

I assume your OH has sent for a new battery not camera? If so I hope it is the battery that is faulty not the camera.

Mandy glad you liked it. I sent my cards out early as they hopefully have more chance of not going astray before the bulk of everyone elses are sent out.
I have ordered Mushroom Wellington instead of turkey followed by Christmas pudding, coffee and mince pie.

All ordered so it should be here tomorrow. What a time to run out though just as I want to take a pic of the advent ring with the candles in down the church.

Mandy thats two of you now that have had snow. I'd like a sprinkling here jjust to get me into the Christmas spirit.

Charged my camera up yeserday and its flat this morning. Oh is going to see if he can get a new one.

Morning all,

Suns shining and it's snowing like mad ,don't think we will be standing out there in a walk in queue for a jab today its freezing in the strong wind .

Anng thank you for the lovely Christmas card that arrived this morning my first one :-)
Enjoy your lunch today ,you did say what you had ordered but I've forgotten was it a turkey lunch .

Ann hope OH didn't come home frozen to the bone last night with them having doors and windows open ,do they have some heating on .
I know sons school have to have a window open all day in each classroom as he has to open them when he gets there first thing .
Son is fine now his time will be up at midnight on Friday so on Saturday he will be able to come out and back to work on Monday as far as I know .

Going to make some Mushroom soup for lunch today nice and warming on a day like this .

Morning Anng and all,

I would,nt go if the men are'nt being careful.

Dull here this morning and pc says 4 degrees and cloudy. I'll give it a click and see if it changes. Nope so it must be as I hav'nt been out yet.

I forgot our scripts at the shop on Saturday and think I must have run out of one of them as I seem to have loads of the others just not the indigestion one.

Just walked in the bedroom and looked in the draw again and there they were!! a weeks supply. I must have thrown the box away and they had slipped to the back of the drawer or the borrowers had them and br9ought them back.

Have to get the ring down the church today.

good morning all a hard frost last night/this morning just 1 degree out there now, bright with some sun.

I was a bit concerned about the 1st Thursday lunch today but received the following this morning so I think it will be fine. The restaurant is a good size.



"Looking forward to seeing you all for the Christmas Lunch tomorrow.

We are advising everyone to wear Masks until you are sat down for lunch.

We will be having 6 or less people to each lunch table, to help with social distancing.

When you arrive, we will be meeting up in the Big Room that we normally use, attached to the cafe, until Simon lets us into the cafe for Lunch.

Please arrive at or just before 1.30pm The entertainment after lunch will be in the big room, chairs and tables will be set up in there so we can
bring our tea/coffee & mince pies with us after lunch.

Take care & Stay safe xx"

It also means that I can slip out after the actual lunch if I feel it is not safe. It is a worry that some of the oldies (mostly the men) are not fully aware of the problem.

What sad news and it must have been a shock for you Mel. I remember you saying how she liked everything to be natural before. So many will be in the same boat having lost partners this past year, so not a happy christmas for everyone. Your Advent Ring is going to look lovely in the church. I think they get better every year! As I said in my email, great photos of Woody too. I have only ever seen that kind of Woodpecker once and it was in our Pine tree on the front.

Today the Robin was back for the fat ball together with some Great tits. Then.......3 Jackdaws arrived and tried their best to balance on the feeder but kept falling off. It's a good job I hadn't filled the feeder with fat balls or they woud have been able to reach them and scoff the lot in a few moments!! They can have some bread scraps I'll put out tomorrow.

OH is out at what will be a lengthy meeting tonight. I hope they all go back online soon if this new variant spreads quickly. I know he has had a booster, but all along they have said that teachers are no more at risk in schools than anyone else, but that the over 65s in schools are, which some of the governors are as is OH. He's gone dressed for footie with lots of layers as it will be really cold but necessary with the doors and windows open. I said it might make them get done sooner!

Yes Anng she is on her own now but has a son quite near by and other s further away.

Iv'e sent some pics.

That was sad news Mel, so is the lady on her own now. Sad Christmas for her then this year.

I expect in future you will check the camera battery before you go out. Had it been left a long time? They don't hold the charge for too long.

Mandy, sounds like that gentleman is in the wrong job. No call for him to be rude, and maybe he should look at an atlas, I can't believe they would want you to travel 200 miles.

Ann enjoy your class. I wouldn't like to tamper with the little unit, it is quite flimsy not at all sturdy and remains the property of Gloucestershire Deaf aid (GDA) the neon light is not very big and is the one that shows it is working ok.

I will try and remember to take my BP machine, it is a bit heavy to carry though and it look as though I might have to walk home. The only appointment I could get before I go away was for 17 December and cynth is away that day so I will have to catch the bus. and then it depends on how long I have to wait whether there will be a convenient bus to catch home.

O Mandy what a job you are having now trying to get your boosters.I had another letter about having my booster yesterday with all the usual book online or ring 119 or whatever it is but when I rang the docs for my scripts and spoke to the receptionist she told me there were two drop in clinics in the memorial hall in Holsworthy for the 4th and 13 th so we are going there and hoep we don't have to que up as the 4th is on a Saturday. Oh has a doc appointment on the 13th which thye just changed today.

Camera is charging nicely and I have had some sad news this morning.

You knwo I make a special ring for Erica and Andy for their sons grave and she likes it without bows and anything artificial well I rang her this morning and she said to me "perhaps I should have two" she told me Andy died in September!!!!!!!!!!!! I did'nt even know, how can that happen in a small village? So I am making two for her now.

Took my camera out to take a pic in my shed and the battery was completely flat.

How frustrating and annoying for you Mandy. I was going to say the same as Ann. Have you tried pharmacies near you? Several are doing walk in jabs. When I picked up my meds this morning my pharmacy was doing them and there were only a couple of people in the queue. I hope you can get something done soon.

Afternoon All,

Chillier than yesterday and it has rained a lot of this morning. The sun came out briefly but it soon went back in again!

Oh Mandy what a game and how rude of that man to be so unhelpful. :-| Glenfield is the other side of the city to me and must be somewhere near 200 miles from you. Surely there was somewhere nearer for you than that now the chemists and some surgeries are doing them as well. I hope you get on better at the hospital.

Oh yes, we want to see a pic of the advent ring Mel. Will you be making yourselves a wreath?

So you have a flashing light at night too AnnG. Could you put some tape over some of the light that flashes so it tones it down a bit? Is the light to show you it is working ok? It might be worth taking your BP monitor with you for your BP check and asking them to show you how it works.

OH's tennis elbow has flared up again and looks swollen. He thinks it was carrying too many bags in from the car at once that set it off. He never listens when I tell him to make more journeys.

My last Landscape class starts soon so I'd better get some post of water ready.

Afternoon all,

Just started raining here and it's very windy too ,I heard the wind in the night .

Ann that was the first thing I did to check the tree but i hadn't added it on there .

Well I feel like I could blow my top if someone says the wrong thing to me ,it's because I was talking to my sister about booking the booster and she said I just rang the number on the letter so I thought I'd give that a go ,got through to this chap who was so rude how I kept my cool I don't know .
I said I'd like to book my booster he said have you tried on line yes I said but I can't find a centre near to me well it will be the same for me then he said oh I said I thought I could book this way then the line went quiet so I said hello ,hello he said , so can I book through here then or not I said ,well give me your details he said so I went through what he asked ,ok he said I think it was Glenfold he said and I said we'll thats the Leicestershire one yes he said it's 7 miles from you ,I donthink so I said ,well as the crow flies he said ,I said I don't think so what 7 miles from Leicestershire to Norfolk ,well that's all that's coming up he said .by this time I thought I'm going to say some thing here if I'm not careful so I said oh I'll leave it them and hung up Grrrrrr.
Since then we've heard that there might take walk ins at Dereham hospital so we thought we might go tomorrow and see .

Mel do forget your camera we want a photo of the advent ring .

Done it just have to get it down the church.

Morning Anng and all,

The suns trying to shine here but the clouds keep getting in the way. Its 9 degrees and a bit windy.

I did the main ring yesterday and today I only have to build up the middle for the fifth candle and take it down the church. O and I need to get the ribbons in it as I coudl'nt see to do it last night when it was getting dark.

good morning all. dry 7 degrees and a bit dull but sky is pale blue so may brighten up a bit later.


Slept badly yes Ann the little control unit has a 10 hour back up battery. But it also has a flashing neon light that goes off quite frequently and is so bright it woke me up. I suppose I will get used to it.

This afternoon Cynth is running me down to the surgery so that I can call in and make an appointment to see one of the health assistants to have my BP check up. It will have to be next week though as I can't make it this week.

What a pain......just finished my post and lost it!

Mandy, silly question, but have you checked whether you entered the date on your family tree? otherwise if the meals you had together were on the actual date and if you paid by credit or debit card, might you still have an old statement that would show the restaurant payment and date? Otherwise you will have to broach it in a roundabout way as you say. Gosh, Leicestershire is a long way for a booster isn't it! I hope you can get something better sorted for you. How is your son now, still well I hope.

That's good those 2 jobs are sorted AnnG. Does it have a battery as well in case of power cuts? I was thinking yesterday how will we cope when our gas boilers are no longer made or oil burners and we are supposed to be all electric. In our case, In a power cut we would then have no gas fire as a back up, no gas hob to hot any food up or even boil water for a hot water bottle. If we had an electric car by then, no charging point to charge it up even if we had one. :-S

We went to the farm shop bright and early and then went to the Post Office to send the cards for abroad so that was 2 jobs done. I also did a wash and have almost finished my painting. I need to be up early to finish 2 last bits that need good light and can send it off to the teacher then.

I hope Frank is ok, as he knows we worry about him and we haven't heard from him for a while again.