General Chat

Hello all,

Mel I did receive your lovely card thank you so much.

Jane I knew Sheila had left GR, but I used to have daily contact with her on FB and have not heard for a couple of months. I did leave a message to ask if she was alright.

Maureen you are doing super well on FB. :)

OH has cooked pudding and cake is in the oven and it is so hot and sticky here. We could do with some of your rain.

Yes it was a relief that Miranda passed her exams although she has no plans for the future, only casual work at W**lies. She did enjoy her time at the resort spa and the photos indicate it was a luxury place. They had 2 great days. Generous parents to pay for such an expensive present.

OH is making a fresh berry cheese cake to take to our friends and need to pick up the prawns tomorrow and it's all done.

Have a good day everyone, hope the rain stops soon. 5.41 pm EDST

Good morning all. Just thought I'd put a post on before I go and get my bacon on the grill and the mushrooms prepared for my brekky.

You've all been talking about annuals you remember. Well, the piccy is one that I still have.Inside the cover is written 'To William, with very best wishes from Vera and Bert, Xmas 1946'. Vera was our next door neighbours daughter, Bert was her husband and served abroad in the army during in the war. In those times, she would spoil me and take me out. I like to think that I was the son she never had. When Bert got demobbed, he became a lorry driver for May & Baker in Dagenham. One time he took me for a ride in his lorry, that was a big adventure for a little boy in those days. Happy memories.

More Christmas memories later.

Mel, Hoggie is coming on well. I hope he won't be upset if I say he looks like an upside-down birds nest! Hope you remembered to wash the scales before you start baking LOL.

Morning All and Evening Kim,

O what a night. Late September back in 63.................or something like that. We had lashing rain and wind last night.

Logged on to come on here and spotted an artical on the news page. Here it is for anyone who wishes to read it. You will see why I did.

Have you ever seen a chicken surf? I have. Right past my front door and down the lane. Problem is it was my chicken being carried away on a breakaway wood panel by a rogue mini-torrent of water that the Met Office had explicitly promised me wouldn't be there!

A soggy Silkie is a sorry sight indeed. We've had our fair share of inclement weather this autumn, with many of my fellow chicken keepers sharing their woeful tales of waterlogged pens, soaking straw bales and puddle-splashing poultry. Having managed to dodge most of the issues that were plaguing my friends I admit I was feeling slightly smug with my picture perfect, tidy row of pens.

So, despite the trees being whipped around in a lively manner and an endless stream of heavy showers, my lack of weather-related attention meant that I was totally caught out by the deluge of water that was unceremoniously dumped in our garden.

Even with my early-morning, bleary-eyed attention span I could see that the overnight weather had caused something of a mass vegetative suicide. Every leaf seemed to thrown itself to the ground, leaving the bare branches hanging in an extravagant but rather menacing manner.

Now of all the things I am not very good at, dealing with an emergency ranks right at the top. Running out of teabags causes a mild panic attack, a bad haircut can require a full day's bed rest and recovery. I am, in short, easily flustered. Happily I'm not the most neurotic member of the family. What distinguishes chickens above all other pets is their almost limitless lack of intelligence. With a complete lack of cunning and ridiculously blunted survival instincts I'm amazed the species has made it this far!

Clueless as to where he was and what he should do, my floating rooster Sam doggedly clung on to his panel as it drifted down the lane. With no time to pull on my wellies, I raced out the door, dressing gown hurling wildly behind me. I bounded through the sloshing water in socks and slippers, leaving a confused husband and overexcited toddler in my wake.

Having recovered the wannabe surf champ I made my way round to the chicken pens to be greeted with a stagnant, muddy pool of standing water. Now I'm not comparing the discovery of finding four coops, five runs and 18 chickens knee-deep in dirty water to the absolute nightmare of finding your entire living room has become a wet room. But believe me, it's hard to think of a more horrid assault on your nostrils than a soggy mixture of mud, straw and chicken poop!

Now, one of the odd things about chickens is that they seem to expend huge amounts of effort getting themselves in the most ridiculous situation they can manage. In this case most of them seemed to have decided that under one of the larger coops and up to their bottoms in water was the safest place to be. Armed with my trusty rake (and still in my pj's) I attempted to shoo them out onto drier ground. Of course this required me getting down on my hands and knees in the yakky water - so far, so soggy!

Having removed the renegade flock I pulled myself up only to find my rake was jammed! It was hooked up on submerged chicken wire with a good six inches of muddy, smelly water over it. As I got back down on my knees I felt justifiably resentful towards my rake for being so unhelpful. Mild panic began to set in after five minutes of pointless tugging, twisting and pulling, accompanied by frustrated growls, angry grunts and finally, helpless bleats.

With a mighty heave-ho it finally came free, just in time to send me hurtling backwards onto my own bottom in the murky water. This wasn't fair! According to the weather 'experts' the flooding wasn't even supposed to be affecting Norfolk. A makeshift trench slowly helped to clear the majority of puddles away, although I'm pretty sure that most of the water ended up being soaked up by my clothing…

Four hours later and back in the house my husband took one look at me before announcing sternly that I spend "far too much time on those bloody chickens". I shrugged helplessly and bleated: "But they don't like having wet feet." He gave me one of his 'hopeless case' sighs before helping me off with my wellies and getting me the big blanket and a nice cup of tea.

The lesson to draw from this is that rain, chickens, early mornings, and baggy pyjama bottoms don't mix. That may not be the profoundest of flood related insights, but for anyone who has outdoor pets with no winter water plan in place, I believe it's a good place to start...

Yes I did William. Going to put the cake in the oven this morning!!

May go shopping today to Bideford as the rain seems to have eased a bit and the lake in the orchard has gone down.

Just lost the whole lot..

Tomorrow im off to my youngest sons for christmas then othe family members will be at mine when I get back..Have been rearranging the spare bed room to fit extra beds... One of the grandchildren will have to sleep with us.

hopefully my eldest son will be here for tea on the 29 to join my daughter and family..his daughter will be 15 on the 30....Gareth will be down for new year as his daughter is 8 on the 29 and is having a party

Mel, I had to pop into the loo, for a pee, while reading your post. I was in stitches rerading your adventure. You should put that as an article in the "CHICKEN BREEDERS" It would go down like a bomb :-D :-D :-D

So sorry to hear of Fitz mum, not being well, What a trip to Leicester to see her each day. How long is she going to be in.???

Well, We had the most fabulous evening last night. We were greeted at the door and shown to our table, drinks order taken and Menu's passed around. There was "EAT AS MUCH" menu, as well as the standard menu.

We ordered from the EAT AS MUCH. it is delivered to your table, you could order as many starters as you wanted, Which we did. There were to many items to mention, but all expertly cooker and prepared, and served I continued to order more fishy starters, while the rest got into the chrispy duck with pancakes and plum sauce. With all that out of the way, we started on the MAINS. again the choice took uo FIVE INCHES of the menu in small print. We gorged ourselves to the point we couldn't move, but was pleased to say with the rice.

I have had telephones call from Julia,Jan and Conrad to say that it was the BEST chinese meal they have ever eaten. My mouth is watering as I type.

Harey and Conrad have taken business cards, with the aim to visit again with friends.

Lewis, wewnt to the head waiter to tell him it was my birthday (little bugg##) and they played Happy Birthday, and bought me a big bowl of ICE CREAM covered in Nuts with a candle on. Needless to say Lewis had that !!

The one dissapointment was, the JAN thought we had to pay for every item ordered, and held back on what she ordered. and ELLA wouldn't try anything, she only had a bowl of boiled rice and a glass of water.. Most unusual for a child of FIVE. But there again .She only drinks water. No Milk or Juice, and very rarely anything with goodness in it. Never eats meat abnd veg. Wouldn't suit if she was mine !!!

We recorded Strickly, but not the final bit, so missed the winner till this mornings paper. Ros wanted him to WIN.

She is not a lot better today, still got the cough and running to the toilet. It looks at the moment a choice between the Hairdressers or the Doctors tomorrow morning. I know who will win. I will ring Drs to see if we can either get a late appointment, or they can leave some Antibiotics for her.

Must go and get dressed.

I shall be worn out but it is still worth it.

If I dont pop in again before then..All of you have alovely christmas <3 <3

A very interesting humourous account of your morning Melaie :-))

Thank you for the e-mail card

Thanks also to the others

LOL Mel Brilliant :-D......Hope all yours are dry now.Gawd you have had some weather down there haven't you.

Pat have a wonderful time with the family and a Very Merry Christmas to you and all yours (if you don't come back before you go)

Frank what a great evening you had.A great success for you Birthday.I did wonder if you might have been up in the night making friends again with your 'white friend' :-D
But I see it is poor Ros still making the visits.I hope it all clears up in time for Christmas.At least she doesn't have to worry about cooking for everyone.

I love all the Xmas emails .Thanks everyone.

I have no idea where today has gone.I hadn't really planned to do another biggish shop as I only needed salad stuff.But somehow I seem to have spent a load :-D

I have just made savoury Filo Parcels.I think they could possibly be our starter now for Xmas lunch.I have changed my mind so many times it is getting silly.
Is it ok to reheat Filo??? please if anyone knows as they will have to be warmed up.

Chris has taken himself off for a long walk,and Hannah has gone to a friends to meet the new Baby.

It is so mild today I have been out in just a thin top and no coat.

My Turkey Crown is out of the freezer and in the fridge now.I always worry that it won't defrost in time.Tomorrow it will be finding the tablecloth (the only time I use one) it is a lovely dark red and looks lovely with my gold crackers and serviettes

Not heard anything today on Fitz's Mum.He might pop in later to borrow our oil filled radiator if his boiler hasn't been sorted.If he doesn't I will give him a ring later.

I better go and clear up the mess I have made in the kitchen.That Filo Pastry is a right pain to use and I have wasted so much of it :-S

Afternoon All,

Glad you had a lovely meal Frank.........it sounds like you all enjoyed yourselves......cheeky Lewis telling them it was your birthday!! Did he say how old too? :-) Sorry Ros is still not great. She has had a rough time with it hasn't she.......trip to the docs sounds the best option.

Mel, I bet you are glad that your chickens weren't doing the same as that lady's! I keep reading how bad the flooding is in north Devon and not to go to Cornwall. The farm where our Turkey is had fields either side of the drive under water the other day, so I'm sending OH or taking his car to collect it tomorrow in case the drive is covered.

Pat, I hope you have a lovely Christmas with your family, both at at home and away!

We went to the big Dob*es garden centre today.........the sales seem to have started there already! I got another pressie for me....a nice new leather purse, reduced from £24.99 to £9.99! :-) I would have got a coat I liked too, but there were none left in my size. :-S Then we called in MIL's and they seem to both be fine now.

Mandy, your mince pies and Viennese fingers look very tasty! :-D

Some how a Christmas tree we have had for years has some how vanishes dematerialised or what ever its gone.

Where do you suggest I look?

Perhaps in the loft of your old house David.

I have had a very nice uneventful day doing nothing. Bit like the song .....busy doing nothing, nothing the whole day through, trying to find lots of things not to do ................

have stopped at one handful of nuts today so will get my dinner soon, settle down and watch TV. Off to the hairdressers for a cut and tidy up early tomorrow .............9.00 is early for me ................. then pack my little bag and off to eldest daughter for Christmas............can't believe it's here already.

Will not be back here until next Friday so will wish everyone a very happy Christmas <3 <3 <3

Maybe it got lost in your move David,or it got cleared out from that garage.

Fitz has just been and gone.He has taken the heaters.His Mother is back from hospital and in the home again.He had just come from seeing her.Said she seems fine again.
Now I need to get something sorted for dinner.It is Bubble and Squeak cakes (which are still slightly frozen ) so are defrosting in the oven.Poached eggs on top with Asparagus,and peas and some Tomato Pesto Bake thing that Chris bought the other day which needs eating.

Nice trys Maureen and Jane.

If memory serves I think we has it up here last Christmas

Evening everyone,

Another busy day ,i started off by making a dozen and a half Sausage rolls and then going to sons for coffee ,we decided we would walk to Morris*n's and leave the car at sons as it's only a five minute walk from there ,Jake decided he would come with us ,Morris*n's was very busy and it took ages to get round as Jake was pushing the trolley :-S :-D
This afternoon we went to see hubby's sister in the nursing home and met up with his other sister and brother who were visiting too, i can tell you, they can all talk !!!

We've just had a curry as i didn't feel like cooking tonight .

Frank it sounds like your evening was enjoyed by all :-D best thing to do get Ros into the doctors in the morning .

Pat have a Very Happy Christmas with the family ,and you too Maureen <3 <3
What happens to the cats when you go away ?

I'd think it would be ok to reheat Filo pastry Jane , just make sure it's brushed with a little butter so they don't dry out and just crumble !!

Got my table cloth out today too, mines a dark green one ,just remembered i haven't bought any serviettes ,must get some tomorrow ,blow it, i didn't want to go out shopping again.

Turkey is out the freezer i like to make sure it well thawed out .

That's good news about Fitz's mum , he will be able to enjoy his christmas now, shame about the boiler though ,but he has got that lovely big fire place so i bet he has a roaring fire in there.

Very strange about your tree David , have you tucked it away in a cupboard ,i seem to remember you saying you were giving a lot of stuff away when you moved .

HAPPY CHRISTMAS MAUREEN........See you when you get back :-D :-D.Have a great time :-D

Mandy I have loads of Serviettes .You are welcome to some lol.Many are from Christmas Past. Did you get Scratch Cards?

You have made my mind up now .I will do those Filo things for starters.Good idea to paste with butter :-D..I have just found a little bit of space in the fridge for them. :-D

Dinner ready now :-D.........I feel as though my throat has been cut :-|

9.00am is early for me too just lately Maureen. I have left the choccies alone today .......I had too many yesterday!! I hope you have a lovely time at your daughter's. I would be wanting to play with all the new toys on Christmas Day! lol.

I just had a shock......looked at the deposit slip for the Turkey.........today was the last collection day!!!!! :-0 OH started muttering the usual silly things.....'hadn't I realised?' etc, etc and that there was no name or number to ring on the slip. Luckily, I had made a note from previous years, so that soon shut him up!! :-| I rang them and it will be fine to collect it tomorrow. :-D Phew! We could have been carving a tin of corned beef!!!! lol.

We always have a red tablecloth, matches the carpet square under the table and chairs! I bought some lovely 'Robin' serviettes from Te*co a few years ago.....still a few left. I always used to use cloth ones with fancy napkin rings, but just see the extra washing and ironing now and use paper ones. :-D

Oh it's good Fitz's mum is back at the home. He won't be running to and fro from the hospital now.

Have you looked in the loft of your new bungalow David, perhaps you stuck the tree in there? Is it small enough to have been put in a cupboard?

Mandy ,I gave more stuff away than most people own,but I wouldn't give that tree away.It was in MIL's room at the nursing home for the last 2 years of her life.,then we have been using it until now.

There's also a new teasmade went AWOL as well.We never really got sorted here despite all the work and expense..
Wouldn't supprise me if it never left the removal van I was at the other end emptying the previous house.

Happy Christmas to any one Iv'e missed.