General Chat

Thanks for that infomation Anng I happen to be one of those people who ar eNOT boosted and so is my oh.

Morning all,

Dull and dreary here this morning just have the shop to do and then I may pick stuff for Phyl's ring as she wants one for Friday. She was telling me she went to Holsworthy on the 4th to have her booster at the drop in center and got there at 11.30am and qued for three hours in the cold and wet so I am glad we did'nt go that day. This is a person who is very thin and dos'nt drive so how she got there I don't know.

Just seen the following. Good job we are all boosted


Vast majority of Britons have NO PROTECTION against Omicron: After 100 days two AstraZeneca doses offer virtually zero defence while two Pfizer jabs provide just 37% protection against new variant – but boosters cut risk of falling ill by 75%

People with just their first two AstraZeneca jabs have almost no protection against the Omicron variant But getting third shot can boost protection against the highly-transmissible strain to above 70 per cent

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10298323/Vast-majority-Britons-NO-PROTECTION-against-Omicron.html

Strange we mostly seemed to, as Ann put it yesterday, faffed about. I did too but looking at what I did, nothing was particularly important but all needed doing sometime so maybe we did achieve something,

good morning all, another dull December dat althoug to be fair yesterday was sunny mostly.

I fully expected to wake up to a hard frost. when I got up in the night and looked out of the window (as you do), the sky was clear and absolutely full of the most beautiful display of stars. I am so ignorant when it comes to stars, T used to tell me what they were. I just wish I could have known what I was looking at but I stayed looking dor quite a while, so lovely.
But it is 3 degrees this morning, cloudy and no sign of frost at all.

You and me both Mel. I seemed to have faffed about a lot of today, I tried sorting out some art magazines, but got sidetracked reading them! :-)

All these new ways of doing things can be very upsetting for older folk I mean what is the poor chap to do if he can't do it himself and there's nobody else to do it for him. He is lucky he has your hubby to try and help.

Can't get into anything else today so I think I will download the pics and perhaps send you all some.

P60s may be evidence you need, certainly until you get your correct state pension and maybe other benefits you claim before that. The P60 is the employee's proof and will be asked for in a benefit claim to speed up payment if NI is missing for a year that counts for their benefit. I still have all of mine, (although I could chuck them away now), just for interest in how wages changed over the years. It's better to keep too much than too little.

Well the new mop gets up to the edges and in the corners better than my steam one, but I still think it will be good to get the steamer out occasionally as, it's probably better on any greasy patches by the cooker. OH stumbled across the allan key that fits the bolts on what's left of the old exercise bike today, so he's been dismantling more of it to go in the bin!

I hope you get a better night's sleep tonight Vera. It's awful lying awake hours when you are tired but unable to drop off. I'd forgotten about a black car 'not being seen easily'. I noticed with my last car (sort of metallic browny grey) that people pulled out in front of me unexpectedly at times. I saw a big difference when I changed to the current white one. (but it does show the dirt badly!). Could your friend send written permission naming your OH to deal with this issue with them if he and your OH are happy to do that? There must be some way around it.

Thank you Mel and Mandy for your cards.

I didn’t get to sleep till about 4 am but then slept till nearly 9 which is late for me. It’s been a fairly bright day and no rain so far but it is very cold and there is a bitter wind.

The name Flappergirl isn’t ringing any bells with me but it’s lovely when you hear from old members. I’ve been a member since Jan 2005 but didn’t post on any board till 2012 and I think I’ve only been posting on this one for about 3 years, so perhaps Flappergirl was before my time.

That oil leak sounds quite nasty Ann and I hope it can be fixed soon. We have a black car and you are right about it showing the dirt and scratches and, what’s more, I am convinced black is invisible. We have had so many people manage to drive into our car; front, back and both sides. These were not minor little parking scratches. In one three year period the car spent more time at the body shop than it did in our garage. And don’t start me on people not reading letters and emails. I sent for an expensive pair of trousers from a company whose “regular” size is the right length for me. When it came the label on the package said “regular” but the trousers inside were “short”. I did try them on and they looked ridiculous so I sent them back with a letter explaining that the trousers were in the wrong bag and asking them to exchange them for the correct size. Yesterday I got an email saying they had received my returned goods and a refund would be made. No mention of an exchange!

OH is also still having trouble with the electricity company he’s dealing with on behalf of our friend. Today he’s had another email saying that as he is not a secondary account holder they cannot deal with him and so can’t give him any advice about a smart meter or paying by direct debit………..except 5th January has already been organized as the date for someone to fit the smart meter and the direct debit is supposed to have already been set up. OH is feeling very frustrated. This chap is not a close friend at all but we are only a couple of minutes walk from him and he doesn’t seem to have anyone else to help so he usually rings us when he has problems. His wife who had Parkinsons died about 3 years ago and their only child died in her 30s. I think he has a couple of nieces or nephews but they don’t seem to come near him very often. He really needs to either move into a care home or have a live-in carer but he won’t consider it. We do have to smile sometimes as he seems to consider my OH a young man. At 84!

That was nice of you to put the rings on the graves and photograph them Mel.

Thanks for putting up the Good Housekeeping article about keeping documents AnnG. These days I usually keep stuff for 2-3 years although anything that might involve tax I still keep for 6 or 7 years.

We had our main meal at lunchtime today as I had half a casserole from yesterday left so I just reheated it on the hob and threw in some dumplings and put a green veg with it. I also made a dozen blueberry muffins which smell good. We’ll have a sandwich and a couple of muffins tonight.

It’s getting dark and colder again so I think it’s time to put the kettle on – it’s seldom off in our house. I just fancy a cup of tea and a ginger biccy.

I copied the following from Good Housekeeping.

Documents to keep for ever
*Marriage/birth/death certificates, wills, house deeds (if you’ve paid off your mortgage), and adoption records are only issued in paper form. Losing any of these is a major hassle and can be costly to replace. Keep the paper copies in a locked and fire-resistant security box.

*Your car's V5C logbook is also a paper document, which you must pass onto the new owner if you sell on your car. Keep it safe!

*Life insurance: Make sure your beneficiaries know where your insurance policies are kept and who the main contact is. The same goes for your will – tell your family where it’s kept.

*Pensions: Make sure you keep all your documentation, otherwise you could end up missing out on hard-earned money. Don't forget to tell your pension providers when your contact details change!

*Medical records: A medical exemption certificate lasts for five years or until your 60th birthday. Keep a note of your NHS number as you will need this when if you change GP. Keep hold of your Children’s Personal Child Health Record (the Red book), if you have a paper version (there’s now a digital version, the eRedbook).

It might be an idea to hold on to your Covid vaccination card too although you can also download your Covid pass from the NHS app.

*National Insurance number: If you've lost your NI card you should be able to find the number on a payslip, P60 or on a tax return. If not, you can apply for a replacement card.

*Pet vaccination record: Keep proof of all their jabs and make a note when they need boosters. A pet passport lasts for ever, provided rabies vaccinations are up to date.

Documents to keep for their lifetime
*Passport: This goes without saying. Even if you don’t plan on travelling abroad, your passport is a useful piece of ID.

*Driving licence: The paper counterpart to a driving licence has had no legal status since June 2015. You should destroy yours if you have one but keep your photocard driving licence. However, paper-only driving licences issued before 1998 are still valid and must not be destroyed.

*Vehicle documents: Whether it's car insurance, road tax or proof your car has passed its MOT, you need to hang on to documents until they expire. Either keep hard copies in a locked box or store digital copies in a safe place. Make sure you keep a note of when your MOT is due for renewal as not all garages will remind you!

*Rental agreements: Keep until you have received your deposit back from your landlord or letting agent in case you need to argue anything. Keep evidence you have paid utility bills on rental property too.

*Extended warranties have different time limits depending on the manufacturer so make a note of the expiry date.

Make sure your filing system is clearly labelled - bank, utilities, travel, for instance.
Documents to keep for two years

*Tax records, including your P60, coding notices from HMRC and proof of interest paid on bank accounts.

Documents to keep for one year
*Payslips only need to be kept until you receive your P60

*Utility bills: Keep a record for a year, in case of problems and so you can compare when it comes to deciding on a new deal.

*TV licence: These, too, can be done online now, so if you pay by direct debit there's no need to worry. Otherwise, make a note of when you need to review.

Important documents for the self-employed
Keep records of your business income so that you can fill in your tax return and for five years after the 31 January online tax return deadline.
If you’re a director of a limited company, you need records of the company itself and its income. You need to keep the records for six years after the end of the relevant financial year. If paperwork isn’t your strong point, don't be an ostrich. Hire an accountant or business manager to help.

There's oil all under the car on the drive now AnnG. After the last service they said a cover under the engine had come loose which has already caused drips and since this there are more. The engineer did say it looked like the oil filter is cracked which is why OH wants the garage who did the service and put a new one on in October to put it right. You and Mel are both right though that he needs to get it swapped now. The only colour I can find in the car he wants is black though and neither of us fancy that as it shows both dirt and scratches. At least with him using my car, and me warning him the the low tyre pressure light might mean a puncture, meant he got cracking and blew the front tyres up for me and the low tyre pressure light has gone out now.

Those leccy bills are pretty old Mel! Mind you Martin Lewis says he keeps all of his old bills and bank statements in case he needs proof of something from years back. I keep about 3 years as they take up so much room. OH has to keep his work stuff about 7 years. I keep telling him to scan things onto a flash stick, but he is still clinging on to paper records and I can't say I blame him really.

I still haven't done my 2 floors yet either. so better go and unpack this mop first and see if it needs putting together. Then I must see if I can finish writing my cards. As someone said, it is the writing of notes to go with some that takes time.

Just missed the post van as when I got down there he was just winding up his leccy lead. He tried but had no internet so I shall have to go down again next week. Called at Erica's but she was'nt in. I wanted to show her the rings before I took them down the church but I took them down and put them on both graves and took a picture of them so I can show her that.

Sorted the leccy bills out of the file and they went back to 2003 !! so they can be burnt.

Now going to get some lunch as oh is watching the qualifying on the telly for the race this weekend. Its the last race of the season and the championship so he is very interested to see who wins it this year.

Thats a real nuisance with oh's car Ann and I hope he can get it done somewhere soon so he dos'nt have to keep using your car. He does need to replace it by the sounds of things as he can't go on with something happening every few weeks.

Thank you Mel and Vera for your cards. I had a good pile this morning which was nice, I do love getting cards although it does seem strange not having anyone to show them to.

thanks also Mel for the news from Flappergirl, pleased to hear her daughter is doing OK.

*(hangs head in shame* No HW done here so far. I got waylaid sorting out the NHS app on my phone to access the Covid Vaccination passport. which on mine expires 9 January 2022 so that is good that is done. It took a bit of getting on as yesterday and first thing today it kept rejecting my password but got there in the end.
I also did my end of month (November) bank balance.

Hope you can get the car/garage sorted for OH's car Ann, it will be a good thing if you can change that car now, it seems to have reached the time of causing problems.

hope there is not an actual oil leak, you don't want that on your drive.

Sunny here and 5 degrees. Yes, thank you Mel and Mandy for your lovely cards! It's nice to see a bit of sparkle isn't it! :-)

OH was up early and kept ringing the garage but there was no reply same as yesterday. :-S We wondered whether they are open less hours or days now, or had even closed down, so off we went in my car to see if anyone was there. The whole place had all the shutters down, not just where they roll the cars in and no lights were on, but no notice on the door or anything and this was after 9.00am. OH is going to try them again on Monday morning as he wants them to do the work as if it is a cracked oil filter they should put it right FOC. If he can't contact them we will have to go to a local garage. We drove past the three nearest garages that do repairs and the village one was open and working so we will try there if all else fails on Monday. I hope your son gets his car fixed and can pick it up today Mandy

I see, despite govt advice some schools are sending children home early for Christmas, due to so many staff isolating and not being able to get supply staff.

I need to get cracking on HW AnnG. The oven was done recently and the microwave, but I must do the kitchen and bathroom floor today with my new flash mop to test it out!

Thanks for the news on Flappergirl Mel. It's good her daughter is doing ok now.

Lunch is nearly ready so will BBL.

Morning all ,

Dry and bright here the Suns trying its best to peep through the cloud .

Thanks Mel for your sparkly card and Fiona too for yours if your looking in .

Hope OH got through the city traffic OK Ann were you going to to bring him home or was he staying with the car in the hope they could do it while he waits .

So your on HW today Anng sparkly sounds good ,I did clean my oven the other days so that's sparkly and today I need to do the fridge before it gets really stocked up for Christmas.

Coffee first then I'll make a start .

Morning Anng and all,

Well its definately not dry here as we've had lots of haily rain this morning already and pc says 8 degrees and partly cloudy. We have also had a tiny bit of sunshine.

I must get the rings down the church yard today whether its raining hail or whatever it decides to throw at me. Also get to the shop with the two arrangements. Also need to find out if Phyl needs one this year. She's had one from me for years and years.

Must thank Mandy for her lovely card with the robin on and Fiona too if she does look in.

Hope Vera got some good earned sleep last night and sending love to Frank. <3

good morning all dry here and 4 degrees not raining. Nothing planned to day, or most of the next week actually so maybe the house will end up sparkling. (Where is the fun in that?)

Hope the car gets fixed today OK Ann, it is a nuisance when 'your' car becomes the 'family car'.

I have just noticed that there are now a few cases of the new variant in Gloucestershire, although they didn't say where so it could be over near Bristol. Up until now the SW has been free of it.

OH has heard that it is the sleepovers and parties that seems to have spread it among the children Vera. I am the same and don't like giving my phone number on websites when I'm ordering things. Surely my email should be sufficient. You did well to get all your Tesco order with no subs at all. How kind of your OH to help the 95 year old with his electricity company. I must admit it is a worry for ourselves as we get older and more things get complicated. Mind you, I don't think younger people even bother to read properly what you write either sometimes. I fully explained when I sent my Christmas tree back that it was not the one I ordered and described how it was different. The twerps got back to me saying I got the right tree as the number on the box was what I ordered. Ahem, did they not realise the tree had either been put in the wrong box or that the box had been wrongly labelled.

Oh I feel for your poor son Mandy. He's had his share of tooth trouble and toothache hasn't he. That sounds really nasty with a cyst under the teeth. I hope he doesn't get more pain with them having loosened the second tooth. Will he still have to have that one out once the bleeding stops? A lot of his face must have been numb with all those injections and he did well to go back to work. Trust the simple job on the car turning out not to be quick job as well.

That bookshop would be right up OH's street too AnnG. I'd never get him out of there! lol. You got some useful bits while shopping too. I could do with a new long handled pan and brush as the pan isn't flat enough on mine and bits fly under the lip. I'm glad you were able to check and hide your mobile number too.

OH is back and I managed to write a lot of Christmas cards while he was out which was good. The garage opens at 8.30 am tomorrow, so another early start to get across the city. I just hope it's a slow oil leak and he gets there without any warning lights coming on again.

Just had this from Flappergirl (Florence) hav'nt heard from her for ages but she sent us a Christmas card on the email.

Hello Mel,
This is just to wish you and the other posters a Happy Christmas and to let you have my new (well not so new!) email address. My last one suddenly refused to synchronise and although I managed to get it corrected, it went wrong again so I gave up and deleted it and added a new one which seems ok! We are both ok, daughter much better thank goodness although her partner has just tested for Covid, grrr! They're now suggesting that we move closer to them but we're not that keen, although it maybe a good idea in the future.
Best wishes,
Florence.






Making Lasagne for dinner.

Here I am again, back like the proverbial bad penny.

It sounds as though you had a nice trip out AnnG and there were some interesting shops. I like the sound of that bookshop. I would have spent hours there. If you are ever near Alnwick have a look at Barter Books in the old Alnwick railway station. It’s not cheap but is wonderful.

Your poor son Mandy; his tooth problems do sound painful. I hope everything heals up soon. I expect a problem with his car is the last thing he needs. Good job you live close enough to help him.

I know what you mean Island about GR being such an open site. I am careful what I put on here but I am sure that anyone with determination and a bit of techie know how could find out a great deal about me and my family. I don’t do any other social media at all. I do however buy quite a lot online and it makes me angry that I nearly always have to put my phone number in before I can complete the purchase. I used to get away with putting in O eleven times but companies got wise to that.

I was pleased with my Tesco order. It was big as I had all my household stuff and food for two weeks plus some Christmas stuff plus some bits my daughter asked me to get and there was nothing missing and no subs. I was puzzled as the bill said I had ordered Red Leicester cheese for £1.55 and they had subbed with Department Sale for 89p. I wondered what on earth I was getting but the driver explained that occasionally there’s a computer glitch and the price doesn’t show up on the screen in the office so the girls call it a sale and manually enter a low price.

While Tesco were here a rug I ordered that was supposed to be delivered 10 days ago arrived so I had vans queuing up in our tiny Close. Don’t think I was popular with the neighbours lol.

OH has been helping a 95 year old acquaintance who has been having terrible trouble with electricity meter readings and bills that seem to be overcharging him His leccy company keep sending him letters he can’t understand and phoning him which is even worse as he is quite deaf. So OH has spent hours at his house on the phone liaising between the company and our acquaintance. The leccy people keep emailing OH for more information but he thinks he has got everything sorted out now.

Well, I had better go and see what my casserole is doing and prepare some tattles for roasting. I’m looking forward to my meal tonight.

I was just ahead of you Vera. I seem to go to be and sleep well for about an hour, wake up and go to the loo, then take a while to get back to sleep but I have been managing 6 or 7 hours total most nights recently.

Mandy I forgot to say, in the old fashioned iron mongers they had red frills for cakes, and also in another little everything (cash only) shop they had some. So they are still around.

I am amazed that we have actually had a dry day for once. According to my weather app on the iPad it is 5 degrees but feels like 3, there are sunny spells and a gentle breeze. In fact there’s not been much sun and the gentle breeze is more like a cold, brisk wind. I have to keep reminding myself that it is December and I should expect it to be cold.

I’ve never been a good sleeper but my sleep patterns are getting worse and worse. Last night I slept from about midnight till around 1.30 am, then was awake till around 6 am when I dozed off again till 7.30. Lack of sleep doesn’t help the migraines and poor OH has to put up with me being grumpy.

I hope you’ve enjoyed your trip out AnnG? Where did you go and did you buy anything nice?

Your OH isn’t having much luck with his car Ann. I hope the garage can fix it quickly for him. Gosh, that’s a lot of Covid cases in one term at that school. It does seem to spread very quickly round the schools, then of course the pupils bring it home to their families and round and round it goes.

Tesco have just arrived so I’ll be back after the wipe-down.