General Chat

Great news Rita. Onwards and upwards now, things are getting better.
You are due good news yourself now at your check.

Jean so glad you got on well and good luck for the next check too. Would love to read any family tales you have if you can type them out.

Dermot loving your stories, they really do paint a picture of how their lives must have been.

Pauline you bad girl !!!! Good job I don't drive I'm sure I would have been caught speeding too. I know where I did my First aid course they also do the speeding awareness courses too and our first aider always joked that we should be sure to go to the right room.

Happy evening to everyone, hope it is restful and relaxing.

Oh by the way.......... Little M is poorly again. She has a high temperature and runny nose and coughing. I said to her Dad not to bring her tomorrow if she is still poorly

Linda :o) XxX

Great news about Mike, Rita.

Great news for Jean as well.

Mo, it was a mobile one, sneaky van hiding behind a bush. But my own fault for going over 30, some of the people had only done 32.

The course was interesting, everyone should go on one. To answer the questions we had one of those controls that the audience have on 'Who Wants To Be A Millionair'. It showed what % of us got the right answers........... but we couldn't phone a friend!!

They told us that only 25% of the static cameras are working at one time, but they keep changing the 25%, so nobody knows when they are working and when they aren't. There are only 4 mobile ones in the whole of Northumbria and they never spend more than a couple of hours in one place in each month. I just happen to be passing during those couple of hours.

Brilliant news Rita. Shows he's improving or they would not have moved him.

My daughter in Law has just phoned me they have moved Mike to a ward, he is still on Morphone and tubes all over the place.but he is improving thas good news.

Rita

Uhmm Pat, I am lost, how does the name Chrisite's connect with Christies, is it that people who work there are called by this name. Sorry if I appear thick. Mo

Hi everyone,
In the middle of eating Fish and chips but they give you so much that I've had a rest before I eat some more.
Jean, the name Chrisite's means an Auction place !
Naughty Pauline!

Naughty naughty Pauline, how could you be speeding like that, tut tut. LOL
Did you get a fine as well. Many times we have driven past a speed camera, and Roly's first question when wev'e gone past," oh god did it flash", uhmm like how would I know, if you are caught it's your own fault.
He said well you can take the blame, yeeehh I dont think so somehow, it's on camera with you driving.

Loved your little house story Dermot. And the cottage looks lovely,with all it's mod cons.
I'm not sure if I could actually live in a thatched property, I would always worry about birds nesting in the thatch, plus bees, wasps and insects.
And it would probably be just my luck that the whole darned lot went up in flames.
But I love the look of them.

Hello our little Jeniwren, it's good news about your scan results, i'm really pleased for you.
Can't wait to hear some of your G.Grandmothers tales.

Hi to everyone I haven't mentioned. Rita I hope Mike is still progressing well.

I was just going to read Dermot's story when I had to go and see to my son, forgot to come back on.

Pat, it was a 'speed awareness' course, I'd been naughty, the police sent me on it.

You could always ask everyone on here to think of a board name for you and then pick the one you like the best.

Cath, I often think how hard it must have been for our ancestors, not only did they have no mod cons, but they had loads of kids as well.

Come on then Jean, get typing and tell us some stories about a Romany life, it'll be nice to hear it from someone first-hand.

Dermot, loved the story. Those little cottages are the ones I was talking about, how do they stay so clean? Does the little white one on the other side of the road belong to your family as well?

I love the thatch on the white one with the red door and windows, it's very pretty.

Hello everyone, thank you for all the kind messages.
Have been to Christies today for my scan, first monthly one since I stopped having treatment, am still clear, hooray!!!
Hope you have all had a good day, will be back on later, just going to have a cuppa.

Go with God and in good health.
Jeniwren xx

Dermot, I like the idea of the party -nice food and hot whiskey and baked potatoes.
Pauline, my problem was trying to think of a name which hadn't been used so I'll just be one of many. Anyway at the moment there's only one Patricia on this thread and that's me!
What course is this Pauline? A golf course or a learning course? 7 am. I was still in bed!

Conjures up lovely images in my mind Dermot. Have seen many cottages like this on our travels round Ireland and was even lucky enough to stay in one 7 or 8 years ago in County Wexford. It still had a thatched roof and also tiny little windows with red and white checked curtains, there was even a stuffed fox in a glass case in the sitting room which was spooky.
My 2 daughters were scared stiff of the spiders and other insects that they supposed were hiding in the thatch!! One good thing was the central heating and washing machine which had been installed to make visitors lives easier.
I loved staying there and spent a lot of time just thinking about how hard a life my ancestors must have had without all the mod cons we take for granted today. It was also in a very rural area with no traffic bar the occasional sheep or cow mooching past, my idea of heaven.

Cath xx

Pat, if you just want to give yourself a board name, you can do it on Boards summary (it's under Community). Click on Boards summary then scroll to the bottom of the page. You can put a community name in Community settings.

Afternoon all, I've just come in, been out on a course since 7am.

Jean, when I read your post I thought you were going to tell us something terrible - like you'd murdered someone with an axe or something. I think everyone would be interested to read about being a Romany.

I'm going to read Dermot's story now.

Little House not on the Prairie

The year was 1870 or thereabouts when my great-grandfather decided to build a house. It was to be built of local stone & mortar with a roof of thatch which was the thing at the time. He would have been about twenty years of age then.

Planning regulations, particularly in the countryside, were unheard of in those distant times. So, there was none of the complicated form filling that is expected now - a good job too because not everyone could read or write. The lack of basic education in 19th century Ireland is a separate story for another time perhaps.

The proposed home was to be of modest proportions - even when the average family size in the area was 4 children - a three bedroom cottage with a kitchen/living room. Indoor toilets were unheard of or the provision of running water.

Having chosen a suitable site on his own land, digging out the foundations by hand began the process. With some help from kindly neighbours, the building was completed in about ten weeks. The main source of heating & cooking was by way of an open fireplace where peat turf was burned supplemented by using logs & seasoned tree branches. The bedrooms had no heating - so, hot water bottles were handy.

Thatched roofing was common in those times because slates, which had to be imported, were expensive & affordable only by the landed-gentry or the local Parish Priest. Thatching is the process of building a roof using dry vegetation such as straw or water reeds. Both items were readily available locally & would be placed in layers so as to shed rain water away from the inner wooden ceiling. And, it kept the house very warm too.

The mortar walls, outside & inside, were painted with ‘whitewash’ - a cheap but effective covering.
Doors & window frames were usually painted bright red.

Like all new dwellings, there was a house-warming party with music provided by local musicians, dancing & songs from anyone who wished show off their ability. It was an open house that night when everyone, young & not so young, were welcome.

The old people sat around the hearth, the red glow of the open turf fire lit up their faces & their feet kept time with the music. A set-dance was in full swing; the young dancers were knocking sparks out of the flag floor; the lamp light was casting shadows on the whitewashed walls. Down at the room door, the musicians were playing. It was said that those musicians never repeated a tune during the whole night.

There was never any shortage of the black stuff or stronger & the ladies might partake of hot Irish whiskeys & the like. Food was an essential element of these knees-ups. So, sandwiches, cakes, baked potatoes were all the rage. Most of these parties ended at sunrise - they knew how to party in the old days. Just goes to show - all night raves that our youngsters crave are nothing new really.

In this same house, my paternal grandfather was born in 1876, some 30 years after the great famine, got married, reared his family of six children, one of whom was my dad born in 1910.

In 1940, the old thatched cottage was relegated to being a store room for many years & time took its toll on the building. It looked quiet fore lone when in 2002 my younger brother decided, against local advice, to renovate it & bring the facilities up-to-date. This he achieved with some style & it is now used for those requiring self-catering accommodation in the area.

Anyone who might have seen ‘The Quiet Man’ film many years ago with John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara & Barry Fitzgerald will have some inkling of the type of cottage in question.

Alternatively, you can see pictures of our ancestral cottage as it is now after my brother’s efforts on the Web by typing in BALLINACOSTELLO & then clicking on Thatched Cottage Self-Catering Accommodation.

I missed brekkie this morning. I found out there's another Patricia on another thread which I've used occasionally. I wasted ten minutes mucking about trying to change my name! I gave up.
Going out to do some shopping.
Good luck with your typing Rita !

Hi Marilyn
Mike is still in ICU, he seems to be doing well. I wont know anything till this evening. they only allow one visitor at the moment and his wife will go straight from the hospital where she works. I will keep you informed .

I have been sorting through my files and papers have everything now for the AGM on 2nd Feb I am just going to type some sheets out to hand out to those at the meeting, then I have finished all that till next time.

Shelly there is someone on the threads who help with computers . put a please help on a new thread and see what happens.?

Rita

morning im back
but only just this pc is so slow i can widdle quicker

going to ask on the boards later to seee if any one can help me with the laptop

Morning All,

Its a frosty one, but the sun is on its way through the clouds.

Going out to get grand daughters Birthday present today.

Stephen thanks for the hearty breakfast.

Rita hows MIKE ?

Jean....... , getting concerned about you not coming back with us , just let us know you are still with us..........or are you writing your family stories for us ?

Hope you all have a lovely day......... bath time.


MADDIE ....I got one of them I Pods ....LOL

mirning all it is a bitter frosty morning just when you think you will be able to cut down on your heating bill. you find your not going to be lucky. I think the Heating companies are controlling our weather. they need the money

Catherine best of luck with your knee x-ray

Shelly our dustbin men come early very rarely do they arrive during the day we usually hear the little bip bip when they are revesring into the road at about 6.30. but i have to give them there due they are really good. and make liilte mess and do try and keep the noise down.

wash day to day not me my washing. Lol

Rita
x

Morning everyone.

Hope you are all well and warm.

Stephen I would LOVE to stay and chat but, you know, commitments.

One day when my numbers come up on the Lottery I will be on here all day, and you will be saying 'Go back to work' lol

See you later hopefully.


Maddie
x

im off to get son up and ready for school