General Chat

I want to put this on a separate post otherwise it is not going to sound sincere. Jane, like everyone else, we are so sorry to hear your news. Just keep that place in your heart and your mind and and it will seem less of a burden and more of happy memories.

From Carmel and I both

Well, you may have noticed my absence, things haven't been so good here. It was bad enough last week attending Jim's funeral and the arctic weather in Skegness. Us two old fools even get ill together. On Saturday Carmel was getting worse and I went through this farce of NHS Direct 111 service (service??!!). I started on the phone at 2pm and a doctor finally arrived at 8.45pm He said she had a bad case of gastro enteritis and left meds for her. During that day, I started to feel bad and by 1.30 am on Sunday morning I too had been violently sick.
Carmel got onto NHS Direct to get me some treatment that morning at 8.30am, and this is where it all went pear shaped. They told me to go to our nearest walk-in centre, at the George Eliot hospital in Nuneaton. I wasn't fit to drive and had to ring our daughter (Dorothy) in Coventry to take me there. When we got there they asked if we had an appointment? Anyway, cutting a long story short, a chat with another doctor (???) on Dorothy's mobile, I had to wait there until yet another doctor saw me. He was worried I'd had a stomach bleed and I was sent round to the A & E Department. We had to phone and ask our grandson to go to our place to be with Carmel.
There were loads of people in the queue, but at least when I was called in for an assessment, we went through all that happened recently, and the nurse and, bless her, she got me in with a registrar within 2 minutes.
That's not the end of it, I had to have a full MOT, bloods, ECG, X Rays, internal - it stopped short of the scope down my throat! Eventually, at 1.45pm, the consultant came in to see us and I got the all clear to go home.
Carmel is still not good, our own GP is sending up more meds for her today. I'm feeling a tad better but am still a bit jelly legged but at least my brain is functioning a bit better today.
And all this lovely sunny weather that we can't enjoy. Both of us are sleeping a lot and I guess that's as good a cure as any.
One of these days, I'll have something cheerful to say on here.

However, the cheer-up of my day was Frank's email with the laughing/scared baby on the video. Don't baby's just hit the spot every time. It's our great-granddaughters Maggie's 3rd birthday on Friday and we hope we feel well enough to be at her party.

Right now, I'm going to back track on all the posts on here.

Just a quick post now to say a massive thank you to you all for all your lovely messages,emails and e card <3 <3
It has been quite a day .I said goodbye to Chester and then had to leave the house while Chris put him in the car and drove away.I did offer to go in the car (but could not face the final part),but Chris wanted to do it on his own.Probably because he couldn't cope with me plus his own emotions.We will get the ashes in about a week ,and they will be buried at the bottom of the garden along side our other pets.
James (bless him) is worse than I thought he would be and has shut himself away most of the day,but he has now been a brick and has taken all of Chesters Bed toys etc to the tip.(I couldn't keep anything).The huge sack of food we had delivered last week which is unopened will go to an animal shelter.I think it is 9 Kilos so should feed a few dogs for a little while :-D.
Fitz left a lovely bunch of Yellow roses and Freesias on the doorstep .He will miss Chester too..........Enough now.My eyeballs ache.

Oh William what a dreadful time you are both having and what an ordeal on Sunday for you.I do hope you are both on the mend now <3.This winter bug has been so bad this year for so many people.

We need to tell Hannah about Chester this evening.Didn't think it was fair to say anything this morning as she would have been upset at work.I will it to Chris to do that,as I will cry even before I speak to her :-(

OMG Kim what a shocking thing to happen .Those poor little children :-0 :-0.Thank god they have the maniac .His poor father too with his partner.The man sounds like he must have been off his head on something or flipped his lid .

The door bell went just now and Chris came in with a very pretty flower arrangement.
Thank you Mandy and everyone.....More tears I'm afraid lol.........That is such a lovely thought. <3 <3......who was it who Had the Saying"I love you all"? well I do
:-D

And we all love you Jane. <3 <3 <3

JANE I'M SO SORRY I KNOW JUST HOW YOU FEEL , AND MY THOUGHT S ARE WITH YOU -- AND HOW NICE IT IS WE ALL HAVE THAT WEE VIDEO KEEPSAKE FOR HIM <3 <3

WILL TRY GETTING TO THE POST LATER--
BUT GOOD LUCK MEL TOMORROW <3

WILLIAM YOU & POOR CARMEL ARE HAVING A BAD TIME HOPE THE MED'S WILL HELP TO GET YOU BOTH BACK TO YOU OLD SELFS AGAIN,
WILLIAM IT WAS ''ME'' THAT SENT THE BABY E-MAIL NOT OUR FRANK ;-)

MG--KIM WHAT IS OUR WORLD COMING TO NOTHING BUT TRAGEDY ALL OVER EVERY DAY.

FIONA HOW'S THE NEW PILLS WORKING FOR YOU

Thanks for your wishes Tracey. Sorry I got mixed up about the baby video. I guess Frank sends so many I just thought it was one of his, bless him.

We have just had some toast because we had to. Neither of us is interested in food and when we start eating we lose interest. Even Carmel with her favourite Marmite!!! :-S

Mel ,Uncross everything .I will cross things here for you for tomorrow.You need to be able to walk to get there lol.I'm sure it will be fine and that the little 'bleeder' will have stopped.
I am just about ready to dish up dinner,...not that any of us have any appetite .But we will eat because I have cooked the blooming food :-D :-D.It will go down like bullets :-S
Tomorrow is a new day ....All sadness behind me,just happy memories.
I think it was Kenny Everrit (sp) who said :"I love you all"

Our Feathered Friends (a bit more).

On our way home from school, we used to pass a house which had a stuffed pheasant on the window ledge. It look so natural & appeared to be just standing there looking out at us.

If you are sober at this point & don‘t have any loose false teeth, try out this well -known tongue twister:-

‘I am a pheasant plucker & a pheasant plucker’s son. I’ve come to pluck your pheasant till the pheasant plucking’s done’.

Ah come on now - say it a bit faster! Repeat it a few times to work colleagues tomorrow especially when they are really busy. They will surely appreciate a bit of light relief.

In springtime when ploughing of the fields started, the crows & seagulls would follow behind the plough looking for rich pickings of disturbed worms or worse. How the seagulls managed to hear of a field, many miles from the sea, was being ploughed was unbelievable. No e-mails, text messages or face book. Anyway, they were there by the hundreds flying & swooping to catch their prey. Their flying ability would outshine any Spitfire.

They particularly liked the day we were sowing oats - their favourite food. We made-up scarecrows & stood them in strategic locations around the field hoping to frighten off the horde of scavengers. We mustn’t have done a very good job because the birds came anyway when our backs were turned & took their expected share of the grain. My dad didn’t seem to mind too much. He had a good sense of the natural order of things & knew that these birds played their part in keeping bugs & insects at bay.

The wren was generally disliked mainly because it deceived the eagle. Folklore tells us that the birds called a meeting in order to elect a king - a general election of sorts, without the canvassing. It was decided that the one who could fly the highest would be deemed to be the winner. There was a lot of betting by the birds as to who might win & quiet quickly, the eagle’s odds plummeted. The bookie birds thought he was bound to win the title.

As expected, the eagle flew very high in the sky & it was obvious from the referee’s vantage point up on a tall tree that the eagle was the winner. Nobody had noticed that the little wren had jumped on the eagle’s back & was on the eagle’s back all along & at the last moment, he flew up and away from the eagle. So, when all the birds came back down to earth, they had to reluctantly name the wren as the ‘King of the Birds’.

The wren further blotted his book in his betrayal of St Stephen by giving away his hiding place to his enemies. St Stephen was arrested & became the first Christian martyr. So, remember him on St Stephen’s day 26th December - otherwise known as Boxing Day.

We had our own ‘Swan Lake’ close by. We used to sit & watch the swans as they relaxed on the lapping lake waters. We took the opportunity to bath our feet in warmer days. Occasionally, you could hear the strange sound of these wild geese flying overhead. They always travelled in a V-formation, each bird taking a turn at the front.

From childhood, we knew the story about King Lear’s children being turned into swans by their wicked step-mother. We wondered if any of those swans were King Lear’s children. Their grace & beauty were lovely to behold.

No it was ME Jane lol lol

No cooking again, I will forget how to do it. Lewis remembered our F & C man comes tonight, so he wanted some. So nice and easy for me. Only the plates to warm up, and wash up afterwards.

Ros is watching her HOLBY while Lewis and I are watching Football. on my Tele. ;-) ;-)

I see the weather isn't going to get any warmer till next week, when we might get to 13 degrees. It will feel like summer after this lot.

Kim, I didn't know you were pestered by yobs where you live. It must make people frightened to leave their homes when they are about.

Will, Do hope you are Carmel start to show signs of improvement with the medication.

I remember when in hospital after my stroke, the only way I could move my right hand/arm, was to lift it with my left hand. The orderly that came round at breakfast time, would insist on putting my toast on a plate with a pack of butter and marmalade. I had to ask her every day to spread the toast for me. She finally got the message, it was the same with my dinner, she would never cut my meat for me.

Football just starting, sowill say God bless all, and speep tight.

Luv you too Frank :-D <3
Dermot,I have said that rhyme many many times over the years lol.Couldn't possibly do it tonight though as I have had a few glasses of wine and would say a lot of FuFF words :-S
I need an early night after a sad day.Back on form tomorrow and will read the rest of your post
Night Night Everyone xx

Mel I hope all goes well tomorrow <3

Glad you liked the flowers Jane...........

Been out in the garden this afternoon. Having a little tidy up around the front of the bungalow. Took down the clemetis I cut off about a month ago. We have had wall to wall sunshine today and a beautiful blue sky . Oh got all the grass cut and spiked ready for when he puts the lawn sand on.

Evening All,

So sorry he had to go Jane, but I'm so glad I met the little fella.........such a happy chappie!! I was thinking the same as Shirl, that we have that little video to remember him with!! Technology is so good in some ways.

I've just spent an age getting my address book back on my emails.......it was EMPTY it said. Doesn't your heart sink when these things happen, especially when you haven't 'touched' anything. All in order now thank goodness. :-)

We saw a strange sight when we went out today..........a man with his lawnmower busily mowing nice stripes on the verges outside his property in lovely warm sunshine...............just a few yards away where the fields started, there were 2 foot high patches of snowdrifts banked up against the hedge! It did look odd.

I didn't realise you got termites, where you are Kim, do they damage the houses? I don't think I'd like them anyway!! I hope Miranda decides she doesn't like feeling ill now! Good for Keith, making sure she went to work. How awful for those 2 little mites to see their parents murdered, they could be scarred for life.

I'll keep just my fingers crossed for you tomorrow at the hospital Mel. I hope things will be back to normal.

William, what a time you've had! :-0 I hope you both soon feel a lot better. They say these bugs like the cold weather and we've had plenty of that! We are off to Nuneaton Museum tomorrow as they have an exhibition on about the Gurkhas that I want to see. Dad worked with Gurkhas in the war and had the utmost respect for them and the hard work they did. He didn't think much of most folk so that was saying something!!

Thanks Jane and all for your wishes for me tomorrow.

I will let you know how I get on.

We are going to get a couple of things in Barnstaple before going to the hosp so don't worry if you don't hear from me tomorrow morning.

Good luck for tomorrow Mel, be sure to let us all know how you've got on when you can.

Ann, pity we couldn't have met up with you in Nuneaton tomorrow. The Gurkhas all very well respected in the area as they are based out at the Bramcote barracks. There is even a Ghurkha restaurant in Abbey Street, which you probably know anyway. Hope you enjoy it, nice little museum, there are also a couple of my drawings lurking somewhere in their archives of the old Haunchwood brickyards and Griff No 4 colliery.

Pity you didn't take one of your photos of the chap doing the mowing with the snowdrifts nearby. That would have made a unique subject.

Goodnight all, early night here at 10pm, Carmel is already dishing out the zzzzz's! <3

Oh goodness i fell asleep :-S better wake myself up to go to bed :-D

Mel, hope all goes well tomorrow ,let us know <3

And i hope tomorrow all the poorly ones will be feeling a little better

Night Night xx

Morning all,

It is wet, dull and much cooler today. Been one of those days and OH is in a terrible mood as the programmes have been changed on his computer for his loan work, etc. Nothing is working and the technicians have no idea what to do. Why fix something that was working perfectly well and now isn't?? :-| I will need to keep my distance.

Mel good luck for today with your medical appointment.

Jane how are you? It couldn't have been easy for Chris to let Hannah know. Good that you have gotten rid of the reminders, it helps. Did you keep Chester's collar? That is the only thing I kept when I lost my border collie, still have it and she has been gone nearly 5 years. So thoughtful of Fitz to leave you those beautiful flowers. Mandy sent me a pic of the other flowers. They are lovely too. You know how much we love and care about you - Australia and Canada that's a long way for love and hugs to travel. The days will get easier, but it will take time.

Ann you would think that fellow would have been high on something nasty. The children are 12 and 7 a boy and girl, one belonging to each of the victims. They were meant to be holidaying with the grandparents, but they fell ill and the trip was cancelled as fate would have it.

Frank there are yobs everywhere in the world. Our little neighbourhood is usually fairly peaceful, but this guy just went crazy. Sydney has a lot of problems with drive by shootings; you can guess which group of people is responsible for those.

Mandy thank you so much for sending the flowers on behalf of the group, esp. me so far away.

Well nearly time to watch the news, although I don't know why I bother. Shepherd's Pie for tea tonight, something easy.

Hope you weather is decent and not too cold. Might BBL 5.39 pm ADST

Pest man tomorrow, the little blighters have disappeared with the rain. I hope they haven't headed for the house. We do have regular inspections.

Morning All and Evening Kim,

Heavy frost today as I thought it would be, but sunshine again and blue skys.

Jane hope you are feeling a bit better this morning. The flowers were a lovely surprise then? So glad you liked them.

Not looking forward to today, sitting around in the hospital waiting to be seen. It is always a long wait as I know from taking mum there. It is the same place as our regular visits over two years ago.

Well better off and sort all the chickens out before we head to Barnstaple.

May pop in later.

Morning/Evening All

After a good nights sleep I think I feel a bit more human today.It is very strange though that feeling of something missing :-(.
Kim I just kept a nice fleece blanket thing .Nothing else.
My flowers are looking lovely on the hearth Thank you again <3

Mel ,I hope all is good with your eye later.No doubt we will here from you later.

Must go as the Gas man will be here in 2 mins to fit a new Condenser (again) :-S.
BBL