General Chat

I missed that post Ann thats why I did'nt know what the others were talking about. It dos'nt sound good and I do hope you can get it sorted but do they work? I'm glad you rang the company and not the fitter. They should make them so you can use them. It was the same when mum had the double glazing they have now bar at the bottom and mum could reach the handle to close the window if it was nice and wide open. Her tum got in the way and now mine does!!

It is so sad that people like you who have enjoyed living with fields and nature close to you have the peace taken away. Sad when they allow building on green belt and agricultural land. I know people need houses and our own houses are built on other people’s’ countryside, orchards etc. But why must they cram in so much and build so close.

Just re-read your posts about the blinds Ann and I see what you mean. When ours are fully open the back edges of the slats are barely an inch from the window frame and I can see that the fitter hung them as close to the window as he could. They could have been 4 or 5 inches further forward. We haven't got the stick thingie - ours has a chain to open and close the slats and a weighted cord to close the slats together and pull them to one side of the window. Anyway it's good that the company have arranged for him to come back and hopefully put them right for you.

Your neighbours sound a right bunch and it's a good job that they have been reported and stopped from building a motor workshop. It would be good if you and the other people round you could find good valid reasons to object to the plans for building on the farmland behind you. A crested newt would be good of course but a badger sett would delay things nicely or maybe you could find a rare orchid. It sounds funny but I know it isn't. The last thing you probably want is a lot more houses behind you.

Yes the blinds do need a bit of space to turn, but the vertical blinds we have in some other rooms fit much closer to the window frames. I think he fits them further away to make his job easier to put the rail up. I decided to ring the company rather than the fitter and they have booked an appointment for him to come back on Thursday. I think he should be able to sort the roller blind ok, but I've noticed the large blind in the main bedroom doesn't close as well as the others, so lets more light in (the one we wanted to blocke the van headlights over the road!) and the adjuster is 'notchy' as you twist it so doesn't seem right. I decided to ring the company instead of the fitter and they have arranged for him to come back on Thursday and will ask him about the old roller blind that has disappeared

What bad luck Vera having to cancel your get together and meal. Your daughter's experience of it sounds a lot like mine as I had the runny nose and sore throat for 4 days before I tested positive. Hopefully you will be able to rearrange it again once your daughter is free of it.

Mel I put about the blinds in my post yesterday. I just hope he can sort them out how I want them as they were too expensive not to be right. Yes when dad ran a business from a house we moved to that had a big workshop, they limited what kind of business you could have. That turned out lucky for you then that your OH got the house.

There's been nothing but trouble since those 3 properties were built at the end of the close. First, one bungalow converted the garage and built another garage and a neighbour said the owner made false teeth and we do see lots of cars going there. Not sure if he is allowed to run a business there. He was keen for the electric gates to be put across the bottom of the close, shutting the new properties behind it. Now it is the house where the elderly Sikh couple live who have 5 grown up sons who roar up the close in their cars. OH thinks 2 of the sons are now living there as their cars are always there. They are the family that sit on the driveway with settees outside and talk loudly till quite late at night in the summer. When the sons make phone calls they walk and stand outside our bedroom window at night talking. There's all this extra traffic on the close, which is private , and we original 4 bungalows were liable for any road maintenance. We have never been notified of any change to that since the other 3 properties were built and their traffic is what will wear the road out.

AnnG, it's good you have managed to get a new bus pass now. You will have to put a cord on it and hang it around your neck! The building plans haven't been submitted for the field yet, but the neighbour said they will soon be digging those channels for the archeologists to investigate. We are less than a quarter of a mile from the old roman Fosse Way and when they built the park and ride further down from us they found 6 roman skeletons. Yes wouldn't it be good if there were great crested newts in the ponds. I expect they would just re-home them but it would hold things up.

Gosh the things some people try to do without planning permission!!. You said there were a lot of cars coming and going a while ago and I bet thats what they have been doing. The people who had the little house out the front of us tried to have a garage repairing cars but the council stopped it as you are not aloud to run a business from there. Its just as well they did as I would'nt have met my other half as he bought it off of those people.

I wish you could find out if there are any great crested newts in the two ponds as they would'nt be able to develope it if there were as they are protected. I have read your posts and can't see where you are not happy with your new blinds or am I missing something?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ to Island. <3

Vera I don’t know if it is just this area. I went into our Borough council site to check where to get replacement passes as the last time everyone had new passes I remembered we got them at the library. It just said participating libraries. Pass cost me £5.
What a shame about your get together Vera. I suppose it could maybe have been worse if the celebration had been held before they knew I imagine maybe the cold lowered her immunity, not necessarily that the cold caused Covid. There are a lot of people with that bad cold. Will you be able to reschedule the get together?

Ann very disappointing about your blinds. Is there a solution?

Have they posted Planning information regarding the building? Surely you have a right to appeal regarding the ponds. What about your local councillors? If the building is as intrusive as you expect can you put up higher fencing to give you some privacy? Strangely I have a bungalow at the back of my house. I can’t actually see into their garden even from upstairs.

Good that the other family have got stopped. Maybe the council will also catch up with them for running a business from their home.

I agree with you Mel about returning/ being refunded on things you won't eat as it is wasteful in produce and money spent. Just ask for a refund on the site. I have asked for refunds on things on different days and they will still give you it in your bank straightaway. They send an email to let you know as well. I just got refunded over £10 on 2 bxes of Black Magic, sugar snap peas and raisins without having to hand them back, which is just as well as the drivers never ring the bell or knock on the door these days and just drive off after leaving the food.

Well there wasn't good news from a neightbour when OH fetched our bins in earlier. According to the farmer that rents the field at the back of us, the field is being sold for building by the pension trust that owns it! It's an old ridge and furrow field with 2 ponds in it and they teem with frogs and toads in the spring. All the hedges and trees will be destroyed to say nothing of us losing our nice private outlook and it being replaced by family houses overlooking us with lots of noise. We aren't going to bother with extending the conservatory all across the back like we planned and will just replace the sealed units that have gone. :-(

OH also found out what they were doing at the house at the end of the close. Well remember me saying when the 3 properties were built how narrow the road was and sharp turn in front of the house. It turns out they were going to build a workshop to mend cars in in the garden at the back of the house!! It's been reported to the council now and they've had to stop as they hadn't applied for planning permission. It's totally unsuitable, but we thought for some time with all the cars parked in the drive that the sons were running a business there. Whatever happened to our quiet little close.

You asked if I was putting the Rhododendron I bought in a pot AnnG. I'm planting it in the ground as they do quite well here as long as I add ericaceous plant food.

Afternoon all

What a grey, miserable day. It was raining earlier but has stopped now. On the bar at the bottom of the computer screen it is saying 12 degrees and mostly cloudy. No way is it 12 degrees, so I just clicked on it and apparently that is the situation in Ottery St Mary!! According to my iPad it is 8 degrees here with an east wind that makes it feel more like 6 degrees. That sounds about right.

What a shame your blinds aren’t exactly as you would like Ann. It’s annoying when you pay good money for them and don’t get what you expect and it was naughty of the chap to take your roller blind without your permission. We’ve got ordinary vertical blinds in the lounge and blackout verticals in the downstairs bedroom that were fitted last year and have been very pleased with them. They are never going to fit snug against the window as there has to be room for them when they are open but ours are pretty good. If the security light on the side of our garage comes on during the night there is just a narrow rim of light shows round the blinds but the light does shine directly at those windows.

Did you get to the library to sort out your bus pass AnnG? (Just seen that you did) Is it just in your area that you can deal with these things in the library or is it general? I’ve not heard of anything like that in our library but it would be handy. I had an email today to say my railcard expires next month and I am in 2 minds whether to renew it or not. I’ve always had a 3 year one which was just used for the occasional trip to London, but because of Covid and other problems I don’t think I have used my current one at all so it’s been a waste of money.

Tell OH you are in charge of shopping Mel. Of course you should send things back if they are damaged or are not what you ordered and you should certainly be refunded for missing items. You can also email customer services and they will refund you. At least that’s the case with Sainsbury and Tesco.

Well, my year seems to be staggering from one problem to the next, what with my back, leg and sleep problems, gas boiler problems and now the latest. Well over a week ago daughter developed a heavy cold. Because of her work she tests for Covid 2 or 3 times a week anyway but as soon as she felt unwell she started daily testing. It was constantly negative. The cold symptoms have cleared up and she feels fine and today she has tested positive. Her man friend has also tested positive so the chances are that in the next few days her daughter who lives with her will also go down with Covid. That would be bad enough but this coming weekend my son, dil and 2 of his 3 girls were coming down from Yorkshire and we were all going to be together and have a belated family celebration of my birthday. OH had booked a table for 10 at a local restaurant and the Yorkshire crew were staying at ours overnight. I was really looking forward to a lovely meal with my daughter, son and their partners and 4 of my 5 grandchildren but, of course, we have had to cancel.

Hey ho, things can only get better.

Thats good Anng you won't feel so shut in now you can go out on the bus again once it comes.

Dead headed some of the daffs in the orchard and got back ache so came in.

Friend picked me up and took me down so it is ordered now, probably take up to 2 weeks to get to me now. Still raining but not as much, it threw it down midday.

Shame its raining and you can't go to the library Anng perhaps it will stop later so you can go then.

Just finished the wipe down and going to get lunch on the go now as we always have soup today with nice new bread.

I had ordered a savory pastry case but it was smashed to bits and I only just caught the driver to return it. I don't think he will refund me that as the refund for the broccoli has come already. I also told him I did'nt have my lamb joint last week and he asked me for the order number which I gave him but he had put other subs in the boxes by then so I have them anyway and thats when I saw the smashed pastry case. Oh dos'nt like me sending things back and says I should'nt do it but I am not having him pay for things we don't use, eat or like. He's putting up with his sub of his weekly prawns for two prawn cocktail but when he saw the size of them I think he may have changed his mind.

Bless her, The Queen determined to be there what strength she has.

Perhaps he thought he was saving it from landfill Ann.

Anyone watching the Duke of Edinburgh memorial. Gosh, so many royals in one place and George and Charlotte so well behaved and smiley meeting people. I bet they get bored. We do pageantry well.

Morning All,

Dull here too but the PC says 6 degrees and fog and there isn't any fog. I see you got a lot of subs this time too Mel. That's the trouble isn't it when you plan what will go in the fridge and they send things that take up more room.

It's a shame it was raining so you couldn't walk to the library AnnG. Maybe it will stop soon so you could still go. I told OH I was doing my 1 lap this morning and he quickly decided to get ready and came with me. I didn't think he would want to as he did a short weeding stint in the front garden first thing today. We noticed some unusual birdsong today, but the little devils were so well hidden we couldn't spot them.

We'll have the rest of our pasta salad with extras and fishcakes for lunch then I shall phone the blind people. We've now noticed that the fitter, after telling us that he couldn't take the old blinds away for us, has taken the small roller blind that was in good condition. You don't mind if they ask and I thought he must have put it in the dustbin, but no, he's taken it with him.

Well so far no hope of my walk down to the library as it is raining that very fine thick drizzle and only 7 degrees. Clever computer tells me it is raining now!!

Morning Anng and all,

I have grey sky and its cold pc saying rain coming and its 10 degrees but dos'nt feel like it. It did rain a few spots yesterday evening. I just nearly lost the post so this will be short.

8 subs this mroning on the shopping order and Ann I have two lots of growers broccolli and I already have one in the fridge. Two lots of prawn cocktail instead of large prawns but three peppers instead of one so I have gained there but there will be no room in the fridge for it all.

good morning all. very grey and gloomy here this morning 6 degrees though so not too cold. Hope to walk to the library today to see about a replacement bus pass. Hoping it doesn't rain.

It might be mightn't it AnnG, especially as your arm ached more with the last jab. You have still done a lot though.

Yes OH tells a joke about a nun sitting in the bath when someone knocks on the door to tell her the blind man has arrived. She says 'send him in then' thinking it won't matter her being in the bath and he goes in the bathroom and says, 'now where do you want this blind.'

Well I really like the blinds but shouldn't have left the man to get on, although the company say to do so. I think blackout blinds need to be close to the window to be effective at blocking out the light, but he has put them all further from the window than the old ones, even with the slats wide open they are still inches away from the window frame. They don't close fully one side either and the biggest blind is too heavy for me to slide across with the stick thing which I can hardly reach anyway as it is so short. I thought the ensuite roller blind would be fine but no. That had the cord on the right with the old blind before, nice and conveniently nearest to you, but now it is at the left and only reaches halfway down tthe window so is hard to reach across from down the side of the toilet and if you don't keep the cord vertical it scrapes the side of the blind. :-S I really wish we hadn't bothered and I expect it will be nothing but hassle to try and sort anything out. :-(

I hope the gas boiler is ok now Vera and that you found some things at the GC.

Mel I slipped up with the tom plant! I thought it was a Gardeners Delight, but my eyes must have lit on a healthier looking plant and I didn't notice I'd drifted into another variety, so I now have a patio or hanging basket one instead!! Never mind It should still be earlier than the others and have some tasty fruit. That's a shame your OH has lost those files with the hard drive going. It was bad luck it happened the one time he hadn't backed them up but it's always the same. Will they cost much to buy more?

Have a good rest tonight AnnG. I have done hardly anything today either, just a bit of washing.

We drove out to Dobbies only to find they hadn’t got the pots OH wanted, so that was a waste of time. We then drove all the way back to our local Perrywoods and got them there. I didn’t get anything else apart from some copper tape to put round pots to keep the snails off.

Looking at the forecast for the next few days it’s just as well I didn’t get anything to plant out. Not only does it look cold but the forecast for this area for Thursday is heavy snow showers, followed by sleet, followed by hail :-(. That’ll flatten everything in the garden just as it’s all coming into bloom.

On a more optimistic note, all is good with the boiler so far :-)

Well all I have done today is change the bed and wash and dry bedding, Plant out sweet peas, sorted out a box of photos and written my Easter cards. Plus going for a walk round the next estate and park around one third of a mile I guess, might be half a mile. And I am shattered, my legs really ached walking, I am wondering if it is anything to do with the booster jab. who knows?