General Chat

Thats nice Liz and glad to see you posting as we were getting worried.

Still no David??

It has been a turn around this morning after a nice start and we have lashing rain now.

I have to go and get that bl**dy light bulb thing this afternoon. I was hoping not to have to go out. I shall just get that and some money out and come back home I think. No looking round the shops as I have a couple of expensive things coming up, car tax and then April MOT and both the time of the poll tax!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where's our Franky Boy??

Afternoon All,

Lashing down with rain here now too Mel!! :-( It's a nuisance having to go out when it is raining, hope it stops by the time you are there. I asked my friend at class who has chickens whether she has had any trouble with egg eaters and she said she had, but had cured it by putting plastic eggs in the nest boxes!! She said with hers once they had tried pecking one of those they didn't bother any more.

Liz, I never knew that about goose feathers.......how cruel!! I'd have never bought mine years ago if I'd known that! I won't touch pate de fois gras either!! :-| That's good you have found some volunteering. An old work pal of mine who lives a few miles from me was buying a boot full of caulis and milk last time I bumped into her. She helps do a meal for the old folk once a week and they were having cauliflower cheese. She's 76 herself, but doesn't look or act it.

OH has to have a filling redone in a fortnight as 'something' is going on under it......probably a bit of decay. :-S MORE EXPENSE for him!

Your shed sounds great and matches the house as well then Fiona. A concrete one will last much longer that a timber one and need less maintenance I would think. I bet you are looking forward to moving stuff into it! :-) Our old shed will need replacing in the next few years and we were thinking of one with a fibreglass tiled effect roof next time as it is a bit of a game renewing the felt. It seems to come around too often!

Like you Ann, we were totally unaware of the 'Goose feathers and Down'. I just happened to read an article about it and then checked it out on google, and sure enough there it all was!!! We wouldn't eat pate de flois gras either, it has the same effect on me as veal, all so horribly cruel!
I remember we kept hens when I was a child and that my S-father used to put china eggs in the nesting boxes to encourage them to lay. I also remember 'hen specs'!! to stop them from pecking each othert. These chickens were on deep litter in barn with an enclosed area for them outside. I think only 'peckers' wore the specs!!!
Horrible afternoon here, tipping down so no walk! OH took Millie out this morning when he went to the Doctor (again!) so she'll have to make do with a car ride. OH has a horrid cough that doesn't seem to want to shift; slight worry that it might be asbestos related owing to his Navy years when ALL insulation on the Carriers he served on was Asbestos and was at times dismantled and replaced without a care in the world!!!!! If this lot of antibiotics doesn't do the trick then a chest X-ray is the next stop - we shall see.

HERE I AM !!

Couldn't get on computer for a couple of hours as Ros had here Hair dryer bag over her head, and it was plugged in by the computer, so she sat playing games and cards while her hair dried. :-D :-D So I was banned from the computer <3 <3 <3.

Now her hair is all dried and done, she's gone to Tesc# and I have the place to myself.

About these firm pillows. Ros has the one that is shaped to her neck I think ikt's made by the BED people (can't think of the name) but quite expensive. She won't be without hers. I have two feather pillows on my side.

As children we had feather matress's. Mum would take them off the bed every week and hang them over the window sill, to give them a good airing. During the very bad winter of 1947. We would put a spare matress over the top of us, as well as the sheets blankets, and eiderdown, and in our SLEEPING SUITS (thats what I called PJs)with three in a bed, we managed to keep warm. There were no carpets in those days, just lino floors. The ice was about half inch thick, and that was on the inside of the windows.. Children today, don't know they are born.

I have just ordered some seed potato's. I will chit them in the conservatory and have them ready for planting in April. They should yield in June/July. With them comes a free gift of 6 garden lights, so provided they are alright it will make the potato's cheap as chips :-D :-D :-D

Dull damp raining day here, and looks very cold out.

Ros made one of here Meat and Potato,onion, suet puddings last night. she calls it (Boiled Onion Roll) why I don't know. But it was very tastey and filling. Couldn't eat my half. Tonight it's a stir fry. She's getting all the bits while shopping today.

Tomorrow it's one of the ladies from the sewing circle 65 birthday, and her husband is throwing a surprise party in the barn behind the pub. 12.00 Noon till 2.00 pm. Ros has been roped in to go down at 11.00 am to help lay out the tables. I will hobble down on my own about Noon. So I will have a few beers, for a change, Might even get to see a bit of football ;-) ; ;-) IF I'M ALLOWED.

Brian, Martines husband is in Oxford Hospital having a HEART bypass today. They started on him at 7.45 am this morning, and will end sometime this afternoon. He will be sedated till Sunday, when she hopes to go to see him. She was in tears last night when she rang Ros. Ros will go over to see her tomorrow afternoon, and invite her to dinner Sunday, when she comes home from Oxford. She will be glad of the company, as she has no one.

Afternoon everyone,

I thought i would be very good today and not come on until i had got some of my jobs done , just stopped for a cuppa .

Dull here today but no rain so far ,it doesn't look very good for the week end and hubby was hoping to get some jobs done in the garden too,the trellis for one thing that came done in the wind and a good tidy up outside his shed .
We also hoped we would get to Norwich to order a new back door and two side windows for the conservatory ,that will be the last of the windows to be replaced ,then hopefully we can start on the kitchen ,new ties ,floor ,worktops and new replacement doors for all the units !!

Well it didn't take the men long to get the new shed up Fiona, good idea having a concrete one, won't want so much looking after .

I can remember having ice on the inside of the windows and huffing on it to make a hole big enough to see out, and hubby can remember having a glass of water beside his bed that had frozen over in the night :-S :-S

When i went int Tesco's yesterday they some small Ham on the bone joints for a £5 instead of £10 so that's what we're having tonight with chips and hubby will have a couple of eggs with his ,nice and easy .

Frank, hope all goes well with your friend's op , a worrying time for Martine ,it's nice that she has you and Ros for a bit of support :-) and i'am sure she will enjoy one of your dinners .

Right better have my drink now before it gets cold .

BBL

Well, we decided to venture out in the interests of 'getting some fresh air'! Millie went about 100 yds, piddled and diddled and turned round and went home!! I must have taken quite a few minutes putting on waterproofs and putting on her coat, for a 10 minute outing!!! still, at least she can't make me feel guilty later on.
We too seem to be living at the dentist Ann or at least OH is! two fillings plus a 'repair' also some root treatment, finishing we hope on 8th April. Next week each of us has an an eye test and I'm almost sure it will mean new glasses. Poor old OH really has been through the mill, what with one thing and another - the joys of impending old age! As you say, the dentist isn't cheap, nor are specs!
Oh dear Frank, a heart bypass although fairly routine is a nasty operation and a great worry - do hope your friend is ok.
I'm really looking forward to going out (!) next week. nice to meet people and feel a bit helpful. A friend does meals on wheels in Wales and she loves it, so I'm pretty positive.
Our new passports came back to us today - a chap bought them to the door and we had to sign for them and answer a couple of questions! they certainly are careful these days, I can't remember having tol do that 10 years ago.

HELLO TO ALL YOU YOUNGSTERS <3

ALL QUITE ON THIS FRONT--JUST MORE SNOW TO-DAY MAY NOT LAST :-|

No 2 Son had triple bypass couple of years ago he was only 50--Doing well now TG,

I HAVE LIGHT WEIGHT DUVET ON ALL YEAR JUST FINE FOR ME ;-)

GOOD LUCK WITH YOU NEW JOB LIZ YOU WILL ENJOY IT I DID.

MUST GET BACK TO CLEARING BEDROOM --FOR PAINTING

FRANK DONT YOU JUST USE OLD POTATOE TO REPLANT ?

Liz, I hope the antibiotics do the trick for your hubby and clear that nasty cough and put his mind at rest. Poor old Millie soon had a change of heart once she was out in the cold didn't she.

I bet Martine will be so glad when her hubby's operation is over and she knows he's ok. That is very kind of you to invite her for dinner. She probably wouldn't feel like getting one for herself. Her hubby should feel better once it's done though. I have just a few early potatoes chitting in egg boxes in the conservatory. I haven't put any seeds in yet though, it just seems too cold.That was good getting free garden lights with yours.

We never had central heating until I was aged 15 and then it wasn't often 'on'. If you wanted a bath it had to be planned as the tank of water would take the Parkray ages to heat enough water. If you tried to have a bath after someone else it would run cold before there was enough water in the bath. :-S More than once I can remember dashing downstairs to boil and add a kettle or two of water to warm it up!! :-S We had lino in the bedrooms when I was little and a small rug at the side of the bed. The windows would be covered in frost patterns on icy mornings and I can remember putting my clothes I was going to wear in bed with me for a few minutes before I dressed and even getting dressed in bed where it was warmer when it was really cold!! The first bed of mine I remember was made of oak and was quite frankly plain ugly! I think it was what you call a bedstead, headboard and tailboard with big coiled springs on an angle iron frame between with a mattress on top. It had a bedpost at each corner with a big round knob and slats for the head and tailboards with fancy beading on. Mind you, if you folded and placed blankets and pillows on the headboards and wound your skipping rope around a knob you had an instant horse!! I used to get told off for that. :-S :-(

It sounds like you have a bit more mess to come with your improvements Mandy, but it is always worth it. I find traipsing around to choose what you want is the time consuming bit. Those joints were a bargain weren't they.......ham egg and chips.....yum, yum! :-D

Shirl is the room nearly clear and ready for painting now? What colour have you decided on? What is you new pic of??

Where is JANE today?? Not been overcome by her new duvet I hope!! :-S

Hope not Ann!! Perhaps I should have kept quiet about the geese!
Thanks about OH, I do worry a bit that that wretched cancer has reared up again, butI think I'm a bit over anxious and must get a grip!
We didn't have central heating (night storage) at home till I was 15 and then only in the hall (heat rising!!) the landing and my parents bedroom! the kitchen had a radiator from a boiler in the cellar which did hot water too! a weird arrangement but it was a very old rambling, COLD house! We also had a Geezer over the bath to boost the bath water!! My bedroom had a gas fire in it, and in the winter of 62/63 the walls of the room froze over aand the windows were permanently Jack Frost. I was at work by then and I can remember dressing in the kitchen while my mother MADE me have a proper cooked breakfast (how would you make a 20 year old these days?) before catching the bus into Oxford. It could take anything up to 2 hrs to go 6 miles as the roads were so awful. Coming home was as bad, leaving work at 5.30, catching the 5.45/ ? (snow) and getting home 7,30/8.00!! this went on day after day for weeks, but the buses ran and we were on them!!! I had friends who were in digs and for once I was very glad to be stilll living at home and waited on!! A year later I was married and flew the nest!!!

I'm here :-D :-D :-D.Just decided to give the pooter a bit of a break today .I can't seem to focus properly with reading in these new specs.Middle and distance are fine.
Oh LIZ!!!!!!naughty girl telling about the poor geese being plucked whilst still alive.I will be having bad dreams :-S :-S :-S.It was Chris who ordered the blooming quilt .I never wanted a feather one.And as for the Geese being force fed (don't get me started).
Just swapped back to my old specks to type.

Liz there are lots of chesty coughs about at the moment that are taking weeks and weeks to clear.So hopefully he has nothing worse than just a very awkward one to clear.
Frank ,I hope all has gone well with Martine's OH's op today.My ex BIL had a quadruple bypass a few months ago and he is younger than me.I think it is taking some time to get over it but he is ok.
Fiona not your turn now with the bad throat and cold :-(.It seems never ending at the moment.My sister is having a second round of it.

I haven't read all the posts properly yet so please excuse me for not commenting on all.

Spag Bol tonight(the first mince I have bought since the Horsemeat trouble)I just had to have Spag Bol lol..... I need to go and stir it.

I hear that Mick Philpott, in court for multiple manslaughter, didn't have a bath for 12 weeks prior to the house fire tragedy.

Sorry Jane!! I should have said when I read about it then you'd have been warned!!! what you don't know you can't help!!
Probably best not to talk about Mick Philpott! i think we all have our views on that particular person and not washing is just one of his extremely unlovely habbits!
Thanks Jane and I'm sure you're right. I think the stress of the neighbours, the move and the house build have caught up with OH, if only we could get some warm weather!!! but that's probably a tall order at the moment!!!

I always thought he was a dodgy character Dermot(obviously a smelly one too).All those poor children.I don't believe a word he says.I remember seeing him on one of those programmes (big families)/Lock him up for good I hope.

YES ANN ALMOST THERE-IT WILL BE A LIGHT GREEN CALLED FERN GREEN
WILL LET YOU SEE WHEN DONE--
THE NEW PIC IS --GREYFRIARS BOBBY IN EDINBURGH

LIZ DO HOPE ITS JUST THIS COLD WEATHER OH HAS BAD COUGH .

MORE WORK GOING ON FOR MANDY & FIONA--YOU TWO HAVE TO STOP ;-)

I am glad Jane popped in to let us know she is ok.

I am having the same trouble with my new glasses. Reading the thred is difficult but I did drive in them today, to Holsworthy, 9 miles, to pick up the new tube for the bathroom light. So now I can go in there without leaving the door open to see what I am doing. I have been having six big candles in there to shower by and it has been quite nice really.

Shirl FERN GREEN SOUNDS NICE FOR A BEDROOM, NICE AND RESTFULL.

I had lino in my bedroom when I was young but was in my early teens when we had central heating. My maternal grandfather was a sheet metal worker and he made all the trunking for the underfloor heating sytem dad put in. I was the one that went under the floor boards to help get it in place.

We had runners up the hall (carpets) with about 4 inches of red lino showing each side.

I can remember having a bath on a Sunday night when I was small and my dad wrapping me in a towel and running through the hall to the lounge and putting me in front of the fire. That hall seemed so long to me then and blimmin cold even though we had one radiator in it. We had what nan called a bogie in the corner of the kitchen which did hot water and the one rad. Later we had a rayburn installed which still did the same thing, hot water and the one rad.

My nan would put a jacket potatoe in the slow oven when I went to school and I would have that when I got in from school with lashings of butter on it. Sometimes there was a bowl of gravy if mum had cooked steak and kidney for a pie and they always saved me a drop.

I was in my first house in the Winter of 62/63. It started to snow on Boxing day evening just as everyone was leaving. By the next morning when I came down stairs, the porch was full of snow upto the roof. I had to go out the back door and dig the front door out. That was a hell of a winter that seemed to go on for ever. Hullbridge is where I lived, Four miles from the nearest town, and the bus ran all the time, even though the snow plough was in constent use on the route.

We had part central heating, it's all we could afford. and being oil as there was no gas, it was difficult to get and keep it warm. Fortunately we had an open fire, which we lite every night when we got home from London The journey could take anything up to two hours, with ice on the overhead cables or the lines.

I didn't know about the geese either Liz, Did the feathers regrow ????

Nice new shed to fill up with JUNK. The more space you have the more you collect. I have two sheds, garage and greenhouse, all full of stuff thats needs sorting out. I could send some up to you if you like Fiona :-D :-D :-D

I bet Jane is snuggled down in her new Goose duevet sp. keeping warm. !!

Martine's husband is out of his operation, she has to ring tomorrow to see if she will be able to visit Sat. evening. If she does she won't go Sunday. They are struggling with funds, so she won't be able to run up and down to Oxford every day. I would offer a tank of petrol,but I know she wouldn't take it. Too proud.

Oh yes, Greyfriars Bobby, I can see that now Shirl......I'd like to go to Edinburgh.....never been yet. I have a soft green on the wall behind the bed and it does look nice and restful, so I bet your room will look lovely when it's all done. It's good to have a change, gives the whole room a new look.

Yes, I read that too Dermot and it made me cringe at the thought of it!! How could women be attracted by that......perfu.....pong? :-S

Just something we were thinking today.........you don't hear the term 'widows' weeds' these days do you . I just looked it up and 'weeds' is an archaic word (waed)for garment. I hadn't realised before how long the mourning periods were and the etiquette of what was worn at each stage and as you moved to half mourning although some apparently never did.

That's a new one on me Ann, I have heard of "a widows peak"

How the hell could that bloke live with his wife, girlfriend and ELEVEN Kids in one house. What must it have been like. ??? To me he looked a right shiffty person , if you can call hin a "PERSON"

I have only been to Edinburgh twice. Once on the way to the highlands for a holiday in 1969. and then when I went to see my sister who had a stroke while visiting her Daughter in the boarders.

Tried to watch Piers Morgan tonight. but that bloke from Strictly always got on my nerves, so came down here, I will only swear at the T.V. if I watch him. BAH HUMBUG!!!

Going to settle down now with a couple of beers.

See you in the morning

Sleep tight.