General Chat

good morning all grey here and 14 degrees which seems to be the norm at the moment. No idea what I am doing today nothing planned.

Shame it rained so much today Vera, after rain all day yesterday it was dry and sometimes sunny today
Hopefully your walking has loosened up your back which will hopefully help you to keep walking when you get home.
Well done your OH Ann for being taken on for four years in the jobs he enjoys.

The Queen has been an inspiration to many and has given the country stability through some difficult times. I’ve heard many people criticise the institution of monarchy but I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad word about the Queen herself. We are fortunate to have had her as our Head of State for so long.

Ann, your OH is going to be so busy, he won’t have time for books and football matches.

Our final day on holiday has been marked by rain, rain and more rain. We were going to book a table for tonight at a nice place in town but if we got caught in a downpour on the way we’d be sitting in wet clothes all evening and we didn’t fancy that. We couldn’t drive as there is nowhere nearby to park. In the end we walked between showers to the small Tesco shop in the High Street and got a ready meal. This afternoon the sun came out (for 5 minutes) so we went down to the front for a last walk. We were out for about 2 hours but 15 minutes was spent sheltering in a bandstand and half an hour in Morelli’s. OH had an ice cream and I had a coffee while we watched the rain through the windows. I know we desperately need the rain but it would have been good if it could have held off another couple of days.

I’m all packed now apart from the last minute bits. I am going to try to get walking again as I’ve done a lot this week and I am sure I am better for it. Trouble is there is always H/W or ironing or gardening to do but I am really going to try to make time for more exercise.

Annx It sounds as if OH is going to be kept busy.... Will he have time to read his new books? ;-)
I'm sure his help and experience is much valued.

I was talking to my daughter this morning about some of the changes that have happened in the long reign of Her Majesty the Queen.
When she came to the throne, our family didn't have a car, a telephone, a TV or a 'fridge and I don't think that was paricularly unusual.We didn't have a washing machine either.
So many things considered part of our everyday life now, were not so then.

Through all the changes, there in the background was our Queen serving her people, her country and the Commonwealth.
It is indeed the end of an era, but I hope people give King Charles III full support as he starts out in his new role.

Afternoon All,

Just had a deluge of rain, boy it does lash down hard when it starts. Not complaining though as the weeds will be easier to pull out and soil easier to dig soon and I'll be able to plant things that have been waiting in their pots!

OH has been accepted this morning for another 4 years in 2 of his Independent Person roles so he's pleased about that. I nipped out earlier for some salad to go with jacket pots and to get a paper and all the talk is about the loss of our Queen. Things will never be the same again without her. At least she won't be upset by anything Harry may have written in his book now though.

OH has been to a meeting this morning and now has lots of work to do so I am going to start having a sort out in here. There's a pile of mags and newspapers and little boxes I've saved to better organise my craft things so now's the time to do it and reduce the clutter.

Mandy the plugs have arrived and work fine! I can't use the one in the cupboard till we can move one of the shelves a bit lower. It is adjustable but wedged in quite tight and needs the help of a hammer. Hope you got your F&C, :-D

Just watching the gun salute fascinating as they go round the country and to Gibralter at 10 sec gaps.

Morning all,

Raining here and very grey ,just done some shopping and we were going to have a F&C lunch but if its still coming down it will be a sandwich and I'll cook later.

So sad about the Queen but what a life she had ,now we have a King .

Morning Anng and all,

Dull dreary and very miserable here this morning and its been raining heavily, 15 degrees on the pc and 17 on the local one.

Nothing else to report so BBL.

Good morning all 13 degrees and a bit dull, ground very wet as we had a lot of rain yesterday, the garden should be happy anyway. But I can't get out there now to do things when it is so wet.
Have my heating engineer due around lunch time to fit the valve. A bit apprehensive as he has to get into the loft, not been opened for over a year and then nobody went up there. Still he is a strong young man and fit so hopefully will sort it.

So sad she was a great queen. RIP our lovely lady nobody could ever take her place. <3

Certainly the end of an era it does seem strange. I can remember how strange it felt going from having a king to a queen. And now back to a king again.

Oh no, the Queen has passed away. I can't quite believe it and she worked almost to the very end at age 96. Much change will be afoot now. :-(

I see your meeting went well AnnG and you didn’t have wet footmarks everywhere. Yes, I remember reading about the RM bombing in the papers and being quite shocked. My cousin wasn’t living there then. She tells me that every year there is a parade on the anniversary of the bombing and there are 11 gaps left in the parade for the 11 men who died. It must be so moving to watch.

It’s sad news about the Queen. I keep hoping for the best but when all the family gather like that I fear the worst.

Well, our day has been a mixture of good and bad. We walked down to the museum and by the time we got there, just before 11.30, the rain had stopped. I had checked it was open today but hadn’t checked the times. It didn’t open till 1 pm. There was something I wanted in the High Street so we wandered up there. I couldn’t get what I wanted but came across a lovely little bits and pieces shop. I saw a birthday card in the window I liked so went in to buy it. I came out with 5 cards, a little “tree present” for my daughter at Christmas and a pretty little bag for a friend’s birthday. The shop owner even gift wrapped it for me. I was really pleased with my purchases.

It was still a bit early for lunch so we continued further up the road, beyond where we had been before and came across a sort of manor house. This turned out to contain various businesses, the council chamber and the Mayor’s Parlour. It was on the edge of a small park so we had a lovely wander round there. There was just us and lots of squirrels. Eventually we walked back to a huge pub which had been a hotel for lunch.

So far, so good. We ordered a drink, a starter and main for OH and a main course for me. Drinks came. About 10 minutes later the starter came, the lad brought it to our table, then decided it wasn’t ours and gave it to another table who had ordered the same. We waited a few minutes, then there was a conflab amongst waiters and one approached us to say the original waiter thought we had said the starter wasn’t ours (???), but OH’s was being cooked and would be with us shortly. It duly arrived with both our mains and two plates were put in front of OH. The lad was amazed when OH pointed out that by the time he had finished his rather large starter his main course would be cold. He offered to keep it warm. By this time OH was quite grumpy and said he didn’t want it all dried out and they should cook him a fresh one. This was agreed and after his starter they checked whether OH was ready and brought his main course. What a shambles. We paid the bill but OH didn’t add a tip although he is usually quite a generous tipper.

On to the Dickens Museum...Dickens never stayed at this house, staying at the Royal Albion Hotel where we had just eaten or Fort House, later renamed Bleak House. He became friendly with Mary Pearson the owner of the museum house and often visited her. He apparently based Betsy Trotwood in David Copperfield on Mary Pearson. We stood in one room with other visitors while a lady told us something of the history of the place and of Dickens himself which was interesting but not much of it was new to me. Then we looked into a room set up as a nursery and one as Miss Pearson’s parlour. The final room had a few display cases with 19th century artefacts, a bridal dress of the time and other bits and pieces which I suppose put Dickens in the context of his age but there were only a letter and a couple of playbills that related to the man himself. It wasn’t bad but was a tad disappointing.

As it was still quite bright OH suggested we explored some of the roads we hadn’t walked down. After a couple of minutes I realised it was coming over black and before we could get cagoules on the heavens opened. I’ve never seen so much rain fall so quickly. We dashed over the road to a shop with a canopy and stood under that putting our cagoules on and then struck out for our accommodation. By the time we got here we were soaked from head to toe and had to change everything. Even my hair was wet even though I had it all covered with the hood.

I am typing this while OH is watching an old black and white film. I’ve probably put in far too much detail so I hope I haven’t bored you. If I ever write a book, it will need drastic editing, lol.

It was the gardening interests meeting and it poured all afternoon but no harm to the carpet. A very lively meeting and two hours soon went.

Yes all very sad about the Aueen although of course she is 96. There are several rumours about her health but whatever the problem is she has looked frail and I guess we all know where this is leading even to BBC news people already wearing black ties.

I think Harry has gone up on his own as has William.

Afternoon all,

Nice and sunny now but we had a very heavy shower this morning and in the night .

Sounds very serious Ann if all the family are going up to Balmoral .

I have had a good hoover and dust through all the bedrooms and given the upstairs bathroom a good clean ,also hoovered the stairs and hoovered downstairs so now having a sit down .

Vera I hope the rain finaly eased up so you managed to get to the museum ,it not nice to get wet and have to walk about in wet things.

Hope it's dried up for your meeting this afternoon Anng you don't want wet feet all over your floors.

It's sad news that there is more concern about the Queen's health and concerning that many of the royals including Harry and Megan are on their way to Balmoral. OH said that he saw that apparently some of her recent mobility issues have been due to gout. I do hope she will be ok.

No all those wet feet are not what you want AnnG. I have 3 identical doormats placed next to each other in the front porch. It sounds like overkill but makes sure the shoes are dryer before treading on anything else. Is this a photography or a garden meeting?

That does sound as if it was his low blood pressure Vera. I am sure he has been told that with his low BP he must not stand up too quickly. Pleased he is ok this morning Hope the rain eased off for you to get about a bit.
Annx it was lovely here until half an hour ago but is dark now and threatening rain, in fact there is a lot shower now, just what I don't need nine pairs of wet feet.

Morning All,

Lots of rain here in the night and another shower half an hour ago. The Pigeons and Blackbird are busy pulling my alpines out now to look for grubs!

It sounds like you had a nicer day yesterday weatherwise Vera and have fallback plans for today. The Dickens House Museum sounds interesting. It's good your OH seems better now and it does sound like he might have stood up too quickly for his BP. I have to be careful some mornings in the shower after my meds. Enjoy your day, whatever the weather brings. I think I prefer a drenching to that awful heat we have had!

It sounds like you will have to test each plug in the shed to see what it switches off Mel, even if it trips the leccy.

Lunch needs a check.........BBL

Well, we are still here as it has been raining heavily non-stop since I posted earlier. Even with a bit of wet weather gear we will be drenched before we get anywhere. OH wanted to go back to Margate to visit a couple of places that weren’t open on Monday but there are several minutes walking between them and we don’t want to be spending all day in soggy clothes. So on to Plan B. If the rain eases a bit we’ll don our cagoules and walk down to the little Dickens House Museum to pass an hour, then have lunch in one of the pubs or restaurants and make it our main meal. Then, after a snack tea here, we might have an evening of cards or board games which we don’t often do at home.

Last night we had a table booked at another Italian restaurant so when we got back from my cousin’s I went to wash and change. When I came downstairs OH had fallen asleep on the couch. I woke him and he tried to get up but couldn’t seem to get his balance and kept falling back. In the end I had to haul him up and he was staggering around the room. It was a bit frightening and I wanted to cancel our booking but he insisted on going. He didn’t seem very steady on his feet but said he felt OK and ate a big meal though I noticed he stuck with water to drink (I didn’t comment. If I’d said anything he would have dug his heels in and ordered wine or beer.). He seems fine this morning if a touch quiet. I am hoping that maybe his blood pressure, which is always low, had dropped a bit too much or maybe his blood sugar levels had dropped and being woken suddenly from sleep didn’t help.

OH says the rain has eased up so we are going to go out now. Have a good meeting this afternoon AnnG.

Have a lovely day Vera. you are having a nice varied break so I look forward to seeing where you have been today. I remember that awful bomb. during the 80s we used to go to several R Marine concerts at the Albert hall. we could buy ticket as employees of the MOD. we loved them and were very fond of the bandsmen who were almost regulars at the time (by sight of course not personally). so that bomb made quite an impact. I still love to hear a RM band.

Mel, no not frozen, it stopped working before T died and I thin just got old, it is not a large one and I am sure we could fix it if we tried. I have a fairy water feature too and must remember to empty her and turn the charger away from the light so it doesn't try to charge in the winter. The main water feature is kept switched off in the winter although occasionally run to keep it going and stopping it freezing.

got to get the room ready now for the meeting this afternoon, ten of us today.