General Chat

Vera my bruise is still dark red with green and yellow on the outside now and I hurt my elbow too and yesterday when I took my gardening smock off oh said had I bruised my elbow too? I looked in the mirror and have a 2 and a half inch round bruise there. I had looked before but it had'nt come out then. Glad you enjoyed your lantern tak and show and was comfortabloe with the others inthe group.

Just having a well earned G & T after comeing down from the corner of the border again. Both been up there and three more big trailer loads over the bonfire. It would'nt be any good us having a garden bin!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope Anng had a good afternoon out at that garden with her friend and has some pics for us to see.

Love to Frank and Island and come on Frank tell us about your holiday. <3

No I still haven't had a second email Vera. It is odd that I got the first but not the second and I have looked in trash in case it was there, Perhaps someone else could kindly try forwarding it to me and see if that works ok? The talk you had sounds quite interesting. I see you have the same trouble as us with plants becoming giants! . The Gaura has hopefully reached it's potential now! Is your soil nice and easy to work, with no clay? Ours is the easiest here of anywhere that I have lived and I think that may be the reason. The Choisya might be about the right height though, although that has some dieback now and is very old so may be a bit stunted. Your Tesco does better than our supermarkets for subs. We can't stipulate anything about subs either and just get given what they think, if we say we will accept them.

Doing that with the bottles does save time doesn't it Mel. OH makes me smile as he has a glove on one hand and puts everything that isn't being wiped into the trolley with that hand to be left a few days. The other sanitised hand is used to put the wiped goods on trays for the freezer or next to the fridge for me to put away after. I think our next order will only be a small one which will be nice.

I start the new landscape course tomorrow in acrylic paint this time. The teacher is an artist himself and he will be talking about other artists on the course that I probably haven't even heard of! He gave us a pre course question to answer about a painting which was a surprise, so I think this course will be much more serious. I hope I will like it!

I'm not surprised your beading is selling at the garden gate Mandy. You make some lovely bits and pieces. I can't wait to see your Christmas makes. What a performance with your jab. You must have been cross. We get ours at the doctors' surgery and they started several days ago but we were on holiday, so I rang this morning. We were given an appointment for 5th October but while the receptionist was on the phone I asked if there was any news about the Covid booster jabs as I wondered if they would do the two together.. She said they had only just got all the information but were getting set up to start on 11th October and we could have an appointment then for both jabs. So on 11th I will be walking around with 2 arms aching - a good excuse not to do any h/w :-)

I hope you have enjoyed your garden trip AnnG and the weather was kind to you. Yesterday was grey all day and raining on and off all afternoon but today is lovely here. I have had the patio doors wide open. It gets a bit chilly when the sky clouds over but is lovely when the sun is out. We have our friends M & V about to arrive for a cup of tea and we can sit in there with the door open without getting frozen.

I hope the 20 dwarf hebes we have planted round a semicicular bed round the birdbath don't grow like yours Ann or they will have to come out. These are not meant to get any taller than 50 cm max. Plants do tend to take off a bit in this garden. We have a white gaura, planted this spring, which is supposed to have a maximum height of 1m 20cm. It must now be well over 2 metres tall and is winding it's way up through a crab apple tree. Btw, did you receive the second email with the woodwork pictures? I resent it to you yesterday.

Mel, I hope your big bruise is no longer black. Is it a pretty mix of green and yellow yet? Don't overdo it with all your work in the garden - you don't want to set yourself back again.

I hope Island and Frank are both OK.

Tesco delivery went well yesterday. Nothing missing and only 2 subs, both of which were fine. I had ordered 2 Hovis wholemeal loaves and they only had 1 so they sent me a different brand of wholemeal loaf for the second one. I had also ordered 4 tins of Tesco prunes and I have a note that they can sub for another brand but they must be in juice not syrup. They subbed with their own brand of pitted prunes in juice but as the tins were slightly smaller they sent me 8 for the price of the usual 4 I buy.

We then went to our club night which worked very well. 19 members turned up and 16 were wearing masks. The room had been cleared of all unnecessary furniture so appeared a lot bigger and the chairs could be much more spaced. These is no door to the outside in that room but we left open the door that led to the reception area which is very, very big and has automatic doors to the outside so anytime anyone went in or out we got a blast of fresh air. The speaker was talking about Victorian magic lantern shows and had lots to show us on an original magic lantern that had been converted to use electricity rather than its original paraffin lamp. It was a bit different and quite interesting.

Our friends normally arrive about 2.30 so they are a bit late. I'd better finish and go and put the kettle on ready for them.

O I meant to say I don't know what Mandy is making its just a guess but I am still not telling you what I think it may be.

Gosh I don't blame you Mandy fancy having to wait all that time. Can you not have it at your doctors? Hope Friday is better for you.
You did really well with your beading selling it outside. Did you put it on the table where you used to put the masks?

Did the wipe down but it was not quick today and I have left all 7 bottles of oh's beer so that can go in the lounge till next week. Its one of his favorites so I did wipe one down as he may like that tonight.

At the mo he is fiddling with some sort of endoscope thing he has bought for when he has to look in small places while working on the mowers. I need to get a bit of washing on the line when its finished and then I am going up the border even if he's not.

Sunnyish and dry here and quite comfortable out and its 12 degrees. Barometer keeps going up so think it could stay nice for a few days yet hopefully.

No it was Boots Ann they only had one pharmacist on and she was doing jabs and prescriptions all by herself , I don't know how long we would have had to wait but we just didn't want to hang about with that chap behind us .

Ha ha, so you know what Mandy is making Mel and we'll have to get the thumbscrews out if we want to find out from you! :-D :-D. I'm sure it will be a nice surprise for the rest of us to look forward to. :-)

Oh what a long wait for your flu jabs Mandy and I wouldn't want to have waited any longer with someone behind you who seemed a bit feverish. I wonder why they were so behind? Was it at your surgery? We've got ours at the doctor's on Saturday and we are hoping they will be quick like last year. :-S Maybe turning up early on Friday you could get jabbed before anyone else.

I managed to trim back a Hebe on the island beds. It was a so called dwarf one that is about 3 foot high now and a couple of years ago I cut the sides away and left some of the middle stems in a vase shape with an umbrella of green on top. Well it didn't set it back at all and the umbrella was too big and no rain gets through so not good for plants underneath it. Now it has been made smaller and we'll see how that works. If not it may have to go, but it is lovely to watch the little birds sheltering in it in the rain.

It's a nice day for doing more of the garden Mel. It's sunny here but not too hot. I hope you get your food wiped and put away quickly!

Well that was a todo with the flu jab .

When we got there she said there's a wait if you have any shopping to do you can come back ,no i said we'll wait .
I noticed some people had a form to fill in she hadn't given us one so I queued up and asked for one ,as I stood there there was two people sat in the chairs he said you'll have a wait we've been waiting an hour and there's three people in front of us .
I went and asked if we could rebook and Irene in there said come back on Friday and we'll fit you in .
We didn't feel like hanging about in there, Colin said there was a chap behind me sweating like mad and fanning his face .

Morning All,

Bright sunny morning here but its been a heavy dew and the fairy hammocks are back inthe hedge.

I know what Mandy is going to make as Ann up the shop made them one year but I am not letting on so you will all have to wait and see when she has done them.

Shopping will be early today and Carl is our driver and it should be here soon according to the tracker.

Better get ready and wip[e all the surfaces as I want to get it done and dusted so we can get back up the garden.

Enjoy your day out Anng and take us some pics please?

I have delete two posts Ann.

My Michaelmas daisies are looking quite good but still not fully out. sunny here so hope it is the same Cirencester way.
I planted two Cosmos, quite large plants and the same has happened as before, very disappointing. In a different part of the garden to before so I don't think I will be planting those again.

Morning All,

Agreed AnnG. I hope you enjoy your trip. We need to enjoy the flowers now while we can before winter is upon us. My Michaelmas daisies are so slow opening their flowers, just one or two have opened on one bush, nothing on the other yet and still only an odd bud on the cosmos. For the space the cosmos are taking up for such a late and small performance I'm not sure they will be staying in my small garden although I like the frothy foliage. Maybe they will astound me with their flowers when they open though!

I'd better get moving now and get the washer on and pick more tomatoes. I might sauce some and make a lasagne for tomorrow. I don't want all the freezer space to be
filled with tomato sauce!

I hope Island is ok and hopefully we will hear from Frank before long if he is home now.

Just saw your post Mandy and your Christmas sewing project sounds interesting! What a good way to sell some of your beading! I have bought a few bits I need to make some things but haven' t made a start yet. I will be doing soon though! Has the scarecrow been moved to the school yet?

Morning AnnG morning all ,

Nice sunshine here this morning after a misty start ,we have our flu jabs later so we'll walk up to boots in the sunshine.

Anng enjoy your day out hope it warms up a bit for you .

Lovely photos thanks Vera looked a nice place to stay ,what a shed, imagine having that out and the sun shining through all those lovely patterns that was a piece of art .

Mel hope all your bruising is starting to feel less sore .

What a todo with your phone call Ann let's hope this letter son comes so you know what's what .
Have you done any beading lately ,I'm still doing a little and have put some out in the garden to sell so far I've got £16.50 :-D
I might soon start on some Christmas sewing I know what I want to make but I just need to cut out a star as a guide to cutting out more but I need to cut different sizes for what I want to make .

Gill I hope you have some luck with this electrician and as Ann said remind him to see if he's rung the joiner too .

Right better get on BBL

Good morning all. I am off out at 0950 to Cerney house in Gloucester, to see the gardens not the house. Been there before. have to be at my friends house at 0950. Back later this pm. 12 degrees so far out there.

Thank you Ann. Can I suggest I can remove my post and then maybe you could remove yours to 'tidy up' the thread. Just the two posts.

I missed you there Gill! That's great news the electrician contacted you and is coming to give you a quote. It must have perked you up no end. Good thinking to ask him about a joiner too and ask him when he comes if he has passed your number on. These young men need reminders! lol. Once the electrics are done you can move on with other jobs as you say and you will feel as if progress is being made again. I think we will be much safer when we get the boosters too. It isn't enjoyable being out when you have to watch everyone else all the time to see they aren't getting too close. They were asking on tv the other day and some don't even wash their masks each day let alone each time and you see people fiddling with them and contaminating their hands and then touching surfaces. Others wear them under their noses instead of properly covering nose and mouth and a lot that wear the NHS masks have got in the habit of twisting the side elastic before looping over their ears. They have proved that lets air leak through the gap in the pinched sides making them less effective. That's a nuisance having to wait a month for your garden bin to be emptied but I think I read somewhere that drivers are off with covid. Ours is fortnightly but OH got the larger bin so we cope ok with that and having a small garden. You will have to get a bonfire together for Bonfire Night! :-D

Did you send 2 emails Vera? I got one email but can't see any carvings.

Good Afternoon one and All,

Like Mel we felt very safe in lockdown too and just found things to do or learn. If I'd been on my own I still think I would have occupied myself, zoomed more friends, and volunteered to do befriending phone calls or done like Ros did with her stirling work sewing all those scrub bags! I do think dealing with grief and bereavement and being on your own is a different matter though, as your future has been whipped from under your feet leaving you almost disorientated with no direction. I sympathise greatly with that and being on your own for long periods.

At a time when our vaccines are waning it doesn't seem to us to be a good idea to take more risk still with the more infectious delta variant when we'll get our 3rd booster jabs with extra protection soon. We will still be cautious then as neither we nor the NHS will want us ill with flu either and there's bound to be another increase of covid with younger people attending all these events they are allowing now and the return to uni.

This is a quote from a small Pfizer study:

'The third-dose immune response appears even more robust -- more than 11 times higher than the second shot -- among people 65 to 85 years old.

The company noted this could mean an estimated 100-fold increase in Delta variant protection after a third dose. These new findings are outlined in a Pfizer second-quarter 2021 earnings report, which notes that the data is submitted for publication in a medical journal.'

Looks promising if other studies confirm it.

I rang the Hospital about the letter this morning and spoke to someone with a hard to understand foreign accent who looked up the letter and told me that there is another letter to me from the consultant that I should get soon! Rather than ask what it said and struggle to understand her I will wait till I get it before doing anything else.

Then I had another try at updating my new bank card with my phone provider. I did get through this time, but it wasn't much better as it was a really strong foreign accent this time and a loud shhhhhhhh noise after every other word. He tried doing adjustments at his end which made no difference, so I rang again and a lady with a foreign accent but clearer voice dealt with it for me and it is sorted now. Pheeww!

I have also bought a couple of sedum rock plants online. One is a nice red colour with deep pink flowers called Wildfire and the other has bright cream and green leaves wiith yellow flowers and is called Atlantis. They are pretty droughtproof so won't need much work watering them and will fill some gaps on the island beds. I can root some shoots on them and maybe plant some in the top of a pot when they grow too. :-)

In our couple of trips to the factory shop we thought they still had very old stock they were still trying to shift AnnG. I expect a lot of shops are the same. They have extended the retail park down the main road from us during the pandemic and some of it is open now. I have noticed a TK Maxx which will be good and there is Flannels too. I think I must have already said my hairdresser went in there just after they opened and saw 'Pubic Hair Shampoo!' for sale.

What a nice holiday place you stayed at Vera. It looks really peaceful and well kept. Those Dahlias at Gunby Hall are beautiful, one of my favourite flowers.

Pleased that the electrician at least called you Gill, just hope he turns up now and hope he also gets the joiner to call as well. don't overdo it with the ceiling.

Vera, thank you for the photos, love the look of the cottage, what a lovely view from the kitchen sink, almost made washing up pleasant!!! And those carvings are wonderful, what a talented lady.

Hi all

The electrician did ring me, be it 20 minutes later than he said he would but you could of knocked me down with a feather as I'm not used to workmen ringing me when they say they will, that's if they even answer their phones in the first place when I ring them.

He said he'll be here tomorrow so hopefully he'll be able to book us in so the wiring can be done then we can move onto other jobs that need doing.

When I spoke with the electrician this morning I asked if he knew a joiner, he does and is seeing him tomorrow so he said he'd pass my number onto him. I'm not holding my breath though as I've heard this before. Time will tell whether the joiner will ring me I suppose.

OH has cut the grass today ready for the garden bin to be emptied tomorrow. They are short on bin drivers so our bin dates have been changed from twice a month to once, so we can't afford to miss them tomorrow. OH will put the bin out before he goes to work tonight.

I'm planning on doing a bit more of the hall ceiling tonight, it gives me something to do while OH's in work as it can be a bit lonely on my own, plus I get more done when he's not here.

My wrist is still a bit sore but luckily it's my left hand and I'm right handed so it shouldn't stop me doing some more work.

I'm still nervous about going out and about with the virus still being around, I haven't been out since the first lockdown apart from appointments to have my jabs. I've thought about going to shops but each time I chicken out. Maybe when I've had my booster jab I might feel more comfortable about going out again.

Going to run OH a bath now as he cut some more branches down and got a bit mucky, then I'll sort out dinner before he goes to work.

Vera the couple next door but one have Tesco and theirs often comes withing half an hour of ours, different vans.

Well tomorrow I am going with the garden visits group to Cerny house gardens, we will be outdoors but will be car sharing. All jabbed and sensible. wednesday is our u3a main meeting, that is a different kettle of fish it is probable all our members won't be there, it is in a different hall to normal as the hall we normally used is the one used for vaccinations. We have over 200 members. But, as I said not all will be there as it is the opposite end to the village to normal. This is the third meeting that has been held, I missed the other two months as I was away. They space the chairs out well and I am not sure, we may be wearing masks. It is walking distance for me so I don't have to beg a lift.

Friday is photography but there will only be a small number present as at least three are away.

Nice to see you Gwyn.

It must have been hard for those on their own over the last year or two and I do feel for anyone in that position. Mel, you said yourself that you don't go out much or socialise a lot so perhaps your life hasn't changed much, apart from the food deliveries and wiping down. But we were used to a pretty active social life and that came to a very abrupt end so our life changed totally. We are both good at keeping ourselves occupied but I found all social interaction stopping, coupled with not seeing our son and his girls for 21 months, very hard. We've survived it but I agree with AnnG. Covid isn't going away and we can't live the rest of our lives afraid to go out. I think we have now reached the stage of being cautious and sensible but trying to live some sort of normal life in whatever way is normal for us.

Having thought it through we are going to our club meeting tonight. Our area hasn't been badly hit by the virus at all, we won't be mixing with strangers and everyone is jabbed. It's quite a small club (maybe 24 members) and I know at least 6 people won't be there so the speaker will only have a small audience and I feel we should try and boost the numbers a bit. I don't go anywhere without masks and sanitiser anyway so I'm sure we will be fine.

Tesco have just delivered to my next door neighbour. They are coming to me between 5 and 6 pm but I booked a flexi 2-6 pm slot so they could have put me in anywhere. Wouldn't you have thought it would save driver hours, fuel etc. to put our neighbour's order and ours on the same van and deliver them together? That's computer planning for you. Bring back the man with his paper and pen I say :-)

I will send round a few pics in a little while.