General Chat

Morning Dermot.

Nice to see you have popped in on here... from your games lol.

Do we I will have to look lol

Frank,I had 2 uncles,George and Ralph served in the RN during WW11

George survived and went on to become a brick layer.

Ralph was killed in action serving as a stoker first class on Corvette Bluebird escorting the Russian convoys.
His vessel was torpedoed

David,

My Eldest brother was on the MTBs got torpedoed three times. He was the stoker so very lucky to get out alive. On one accassion he managed to grab the ensign as the boat weny down. It sat in my Mums dressing table draw.,till the day she deied, I suppose it was passed on to one of his two sons. The other brother was in the Royal Engineers, and seemed to follow the war around. He was in charges of a group of Italian POWs when he helped build the Runway on Gibralter.

My father as I think I have mentioned was too old for active service in WW 11 So spent the war years in the Port of London Authorites (PLA) working on movement of shipping in the channel. Mind you he had done his bit, as chief gunner on the Battleships during the first WW.

What a gorgeous day it has been so far. Ros has been at it in the garden all day, I have been the tea/coffee boy, with biscuits and cake. I have done the back lawn and trimmed all the edges. It looks a treat.

Picked a very large Cuecumber. and two courgettes. Given half cue to next door.

Dinner all prepared, and I have been sitting in the garden reading.

If it's like this where Jane is she will be complaining about the heat !!!! never satisfied <3 <3 <3

I hear a call for more tea so will say Bye for now.

Afternoon everyone,

Lovely day again ,what a good start weather wise for the holiday makers ,looks like it should be a good week.

Maureen , that was a quick make your mind up for the holiday was it :-D best time to go at the end of the year ,the sea has had a chance to really warm up .

Well i've never heard about putting the pile cream on your face !! :-D i suppose it is for shrivelling things up :-D :-D

Hope you feel better today Mel ,you must have needed the sleep ,perhaps you've been doing too much lately, take it easy for a few days.

What a shame about the plants Frank, little perishers digging them up like that , some one i know use to put lemonade bottles half filled with water among their plants to stop the cats ,its some thing to do with the reflection of the water that puts them off digging the earth.

So the Castle visit is some thing for another day then Ann, good job you checked the times .

Not sure what we're eating tonight , some thing from the freezer i think.

I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!!!
My computer saga is reaching epic proportions!
My old PC gave up the ghost when the software failed and I mistakenly reloaded the old version of Windows. Hence PC works, internet doesn't. Out came this laptop that I'm custodian of. It's served me well but it's awful on my eyes!
So when aldi were advertising their new PC I promtly went out and bought one thinking it would serve me as well as my old would, 6 years and counting. No, I got it home and it wouldn't load at all. The help line coudln't help so I took it back and got a replacement under their guarantee.
You won't believe this but the second machine did exactly the same thing. So I took it back and got a refund. This is weeks and weeks ago.
Then I found what seemed a good deal and a good spec in the Argos on-line offers. I ordered it on August 20th with a August 28th delivery promised. Three phone calls later and it was finally delivered from the manufacturers first thing this morning by City Link.
We were going to go to Warwick this morning but for some reason I decided to unpack it and have a look at it. Would you believe the case had a big dent in the top corner and the packaging was totally undamaged. I phoned straight away and was told to photograph the PC damage and the case. I di this and emailed it off. When I got back there was an email asking all the questions that my email/photos answered.
I am not a happy bunny and never again will send for a PC from Argos or on-line.
With everything having gone wrong this year. more sagas than I care to bother you all with on here, is it any wonder that I think I've got a jinx on me this year?
Thanks for listening guys, I promise not to bother you again until I have some GOOD news.
Other than that we have enjoyed the sunshine with a nice day out in Warwick.

Oh dear William, your not having much luck with the lap tops ,it's certainly not third time lucky with them for you is it :-S
Hope your soon back with good news that your up and running again.
Glad you enjoyed your day out in the sunshine.

Lovely evening here with sunshine , its been a really hot afternoon , we ended up with pizza and salad tonight , wasn't that impressed with the pizza so i only had the salad .

Remember Radio 4's 'Urgent SOS Messages'?

They seem another lifetime away now when very few had a phone in the house & the call for a doctor, for example, was achieved by a generous nearby neighbour who may have been the only one locally to have such a gadget.

It isn't easy to explain all this to our current batch of young adults suffering from thumb cramp with all their texting & trolling - whatever that is.

If you were lucky enough to have a public phone box nearby, it was imperative to have a good pocket-full of six penny pieces.

I feel older than I am!

Welcome Dermot.

I seem to remember it was 4d for a phone call when I was young. If I ever had to ring home I would just reverse the charges as thats what dad told me to do.

Went shopping this afternoon after feeling better after my long sleep. They had the main road closed off into Bideford so I had to go all the way to Torrington and through to Bideford that way. took ages as I was behind a fiesta doing 20 and 30 miles an hour nearly all the way there. Every time a car came towards her she put the brakes on. It was driving me mad.

Mandy thanks for asking and yes I feel much better today.

Hello Dermot ,welcome to the thread , i don't remember the SOS Messages ,i do remember when mum and Dad had their first phone put in , it was one of those Beige Trim Phones , it seemed ages before it rang after it was put in , i remember Mum was never that keen on answering it :-D
It was sixpences for the phone and Shillings for the meter !! when the meter was emptied if it was set on the high side you got some Shillings back.

Do you remember Worker's Playtime on the radio at dinner time (or lunch time as some say) Mrs Dale's Diary and The Archers.
People actually listened then instead of it being back ground noise.

Evening All,

Hi Dermot, nice to see you on here. I remember the phone boxes always smelling like ashtrays. They had button A and was it button B you pressed when they picked the phone up the other end? There were even phone books in most of them then too.

Glad you feel better today Mel, a good sleep often helps. I must say I feel princely today and much more like it. I raked a bit of gravel down the paths so I could get to the top of the waterfall to start cleaning the soil from between the rocks. I lifted the big top one up and there was a big ants nest under it!! :-S I dug the soil away about 6 inches deep under it and will fill the hole with gravel for the rock to rest on and then seal the edge with foam stuff. I've left it for now for the ants to clear off, can't be doing with them all over my arms and legs!!!

Frank, I can't imagine you with hair bunches!! :-D lol. I had my hair cut this afternoon and was looking forward to the coffee and BISCUIT, but the new girl got it for me and forgot the biscuit. :-S

Yes, good weather for our friends on holiday........speaking of which, fantastic Maureen.....off to Tennerife and sunshine with your friend going too. I can see you sunning yourself with a drinky poo to hand already!! :-D

Mandy, we are off to the Castle tomorrow and taking a picnic with us. It looks as if there are nice gardens too with plenty to see, plus a tearoom/restuarant. I have had a hankering for a cream scone since I saw those Ros and her friend had!! Bet I can tempt OH! ;-)

Well, I could do with some Pile cream on my face .........mind you I wouldn't want to share a pot with someone who had Piles!!!!! :-0 :-0 lol

Last night, about 11.00pm, OH spotted the email about Mars being visible at the end of August and wondered if he could still see it!! Off he went and was back 5 minutes later to ask me to come and look at a Pigeon!!! He said it was on the fence 3 feet from the backdoor and didn't fly away and he could nearly touch it. I asked him if it had rings on it's legs......off he went again.....yes, on both legs he reported and that it didn't look like an ordinary Pigeon!! I went to have a look and yes, it was a weary racing Pigeon, handsome pale grey wings with dark bars on them. It was obviously tame, but wary and moved along the fence if I went too close. Every time we went back in the utility, leaving the door open it came back into view, peeping through the door way. I took it some water, but it wasn't interested and I put some birdseed with corn grains in on top of the fence, but it just walked through it. It seemed to walk quite strongly and could flap both wings ok when it climbed over the fence posts, so eventually we decided to leave it rather than try and catch it and it end up on the ground somewhere we couldn't get it and be unable to fly back up in the dark. A bit of light gets down between the bungalows, so I thought it would see any cats that tried to creep up on it. I suppose it had either got lost and/or was just tired and needed a good rest. OH thought it was a funny place for it to perch, but I told him that it was used to a loft with electric light, not trees for sleeping in and that it was also used to people so it wasn't that strange really!! This morning it had gone, otherwise we would have caught it and phoned it's ring numbers through for it's owner to fetch it. We both searched around, but thankfully there was no bird and no feathers about.

Both of my grandfathers had racing Pigeons and I remember mum telling me that grandad had one that was a brilliant bird that would get home in record time and would have won many races. Trouble was grandad could never get it to go in the loft so he could clock it's time!! She said it would sit on the loft roof for ages with grandad trying to entice it in with food.

Evening all,

Very late I know, so most will be tucked up in bed.

We had a telephone box on the corner of our street. (BUCKHURST 3956) If as a child playing out on the street (which we all did then) If the phone rang you would run and answer it, and someone would say can go get Mr or Mrs so and so from No. ### and you would go and knock the door, The cost of a phone call then was 2d You pressed button A to get connected and Button B to get your money back. I use to stuff paper up the return coin cup, and hope that someone would press button B and when they didn't get their money back , would just leave, and that was my pocket money !!!! NAUGHTY BOY <3 <3 <3

Ann, Both my eldest brothers kept Racing pigeons. and I was the trainer in as much, when the "YOUNG BIRDS" were ready for training. I was the one who would take them on the bus or train to various points to liberate them, to find their way home.On Friday nights, we would go the the local pub to have the clocks sealed asnd the birds RUNG and the bets were placed. On Saturday, we would wait for the flock to come over the GAS HOLDER and shake the corn tin, our bird would fold up its wings and dive, it seemed to take ages for it to get into the loft, Then it was in the loft, off with the ring, into the thimble, and into the clock and strike the hammer to register the time. Sat. evening it was back to the "BELL" for the times to be checked and dipolma's handed out and bets collected. if you won.
From London. where we lived, the races were to Pinchbeck, Spalding, and all points north as far as Fraserborough in Scotland. We were very lucky to win many races. I continued to race the birds will my elder brother till I was 18 years old.

I must stop now or I will go on all night.

Morning everyone,

Another beautiful day here, that's 3 in a row now.

Glad to see Sheila and Jane got away okay and Jane sorted out Chester's accommodation. I hope she forgets about all the upheaval at the house for a week.

We went to a friend's house on Sunday for a BBQ for Father's Day. We celebrate it on the first Sunday in September. Had a lovely time - good company, great food and lots of sun. My first visit there in many months; it was good to leave the house for a change.

Liz good that Stella behaved herself, but Millie would be so pleased to have her own space back. I have a problem here with the younger cat chasing the older one around the house when all she wants to do is sleep, lol.

Ongoing dramas with the daughter, but that's part and parcel at this house. ;-) Not much else to report, so I will go and have a cuppa. Hope you are all well and happy. Cheers for now. 4.29 pm AEST

Have enjoyed watching the Paralympics. We are getting super coverage this time, much better than we did with the Olympics. They are amazing athletes, brings a tear to your eye when they stand there to receive their medals, bless them.

Morning All and Evening Kim,

Dull again this morning but I am hoping it will brighten up as it did yesterday.

Anyone anything planned for today??

HAIRCUT !!!! I can hardly see through it. The sides are all puffed out. Sasha my hairdresser with earn her tip today..

Ros is at the needlework session, she will ring when she's leaving so I can get ready for the hairdressers.

Beautiful day here, not a cloud in the sky.

I am going to set some seeds this morning and cut the front lawn. Then I will get showered and shaved. No point doing that first !!!

Kim, Sorry to hear you are still having daughter trouble. Ros never wanted "Girls" as she always said they are more trouble than boys. She was lucky to have two boys. I never had that problem, as I was seperated when my daughter got to her teens

Kim, the paralympics are very good. Channel 4 don't do as well as the BBC with the coverage, but we see a bit most days.

.
The girls have certainly picked the right week, provided it's as good where they are as it is here.

Are you back to normal now Mel ??? It could be all this "HOT WEATHER" playing you up.


Must get on, "This won't get baby a new hat. WHERE DID THAT COME FROM !!!

Frank, my Granny used to say that! only with her it was 'a new bonnet'! Also, 'Let the dog see the rabbit'! whe she was being hassled by someone! together with'least said soonest mended' 'don'e shoot till you see the whites of their eyes' and many more! I'm having a hair cut today, also the car going for an MOT! you can see what a hectic life I lead!!! I actually found daughter far easier than son as a teenager and although she did have her moments, by and large she was pretty easy, good fun and a good companion; mind you, what she got up to away from home? I didn't ask and she didn't tell!! Son, much less amenable, super when little, (they both were) but angry, resentful and troublesome from about 16 - 23 when he left home and we began to get along better. Now we get on fine - L is a LOT happier now we live closer - we all are!!!

Hi Liz,

Good that Laura is better now you live closer.

Well it is that horrid fine rain here today but it is not cold and very still.

Must think about getting a few more big hens as I am now down to 10 and don't know whether they are going to lay through the winter. I NEED my own eggs as I don't like the plastic ones from the shops.

I have had a birtday card today and it has written on the front DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOUR BIRTHDAY. Now Sheila wished me a happy birthday last week or so on the thread??????????

I shall now have to wait until February to find out!!!!!! :-S :-S :-S

Going to do some ironing now................................... :-( :-(

Seeds all potted, along with some grass's (they are for the W.I.) cut front lawn and weeded the beds (Ros will be surprised) she does that job.

Have put nylon netting over the "CAT AREA" perhaps that will deter it, and go somewhere else. The moth Balls are stinking the garden out, hope that helps too.

Liz, There are so many old sayings, that come to mind on the most odd times. Ros often thinks I am 100 plus years old :-D :-D :-D when I come out with them

Just off to get showered and shaved, and be ready for Madam when she rings !!!!