General Chat

Afternoon all
managed to get to town to Tesco and did a big shop as the ferries are back to normal.

No Joan, Tesco don't rebook, we have to do that ourselves!

I do keep a good supply of flour and baking products so never run short of that sort of stuff but needed milk. bread, cheese etc. So cupboards, fridge/freezer all now full up.

My daffs are nearly in bloom and today the wind has dropped to nothing after all the storms we have had. So hopefully should have a good display soon.
Joan , so glad you managed out into the garden for a while, it will have done you a lot of good mentally. But dont overdo it! Enjoy you curry.

Florence in the hebrides

It is nice to be able to get outside Joan. We have had a lovely few days, but overnight there was a lot of rain, so the garden was very claggy. OH just put once fence post in today, then stopped because it was too wet. He still has two more to put in, then he can start hammering all the planks onto the frame

As usual on Friday morning I went to Esme’s school bakery, then did a big of shopping. I have been cleaning because my son is arriving tonight to stay for a week. He has finally accepted an offer on his house in Evesham, but has decided to move back up here. He is working from here next week and looking at houses at the same time. If his house sale goes through before whatever he buys up here, he will move in with us for a while .

This afternoon, I have also been doing phonics lessons because I have been accepted as a volunteer reader in the local primary school. It will probably take a while to set up, but I already have an enhanced DBS check, so that should speed things up. It is just to go in once a week for a couple of hours to hear children read.

Good morning to you all.
We have a rather nice day here, the sun is shining the temp is up,nice & calm, lovely.
I have managed a wee bit of time outside this morning & cleared some of the bank of leaves that have been piling all through the winter weather, some that I did n't manage to clear before the winter weather moved in.
It has taken me over an hour to clear them due to having to take several rests but iI have got there in the end !!

Florence, I hope you are managing without your cancelled Tesco shop, do Tesco arrange a new slot for you or do you hvae to do that yourself? also do they "compensate" you for cancelling ?

Well I must make a start on my dinner, looks like something quick today & easy today, after all that sweeping etc I'm too tired to spend too long in the kitchen, a curry will fit the bill nicely.

I hope all is well with everyone.

Joan.

My mobile's an ancient Nokia 1100, and I love it.
Very small and neat, and it feels good in the hand.

And a lot lighter to carry around than the big modern "smart" phones.

When 2G is eventually withdrawn I'll have to get rid of it, but in the meantime will keep using it as long as I can. That'll be a sad day.

Some store-cupboard cookery required, Florence!
I'm sure you keep an emergency stash of basics "just in case ".

I had to give up my ‘star trek’ flip phone as it was only 2g. But it fitted nicely into my jeans pocket. I now have a Nokia flip phone ( twice the size) but don’t like it very much. The shop couldn’t understand why I didn’t want a monthly fee but I use mine so infrequently that I would have ended up hundreds of pounds in credit.

Just remember to make a call occasionally, even to your landline, just to prove it is in use.

I think, if fully charged, the mobile will last for days, if not used much, whilst the battery pack only lasts a few hours. When you’ve experienced no electricty for days you know you need lots of back up plans.

Added: according to ofcom your provider must provide you with the battery pack if you are reliant on your landline.

Good morning all, It is a lovely day here and washing is on the line . A sunny day lifts the spirits I find.

How annoying that your Tesco order has been cancelled Florence.

Joining in with the mobile chat, I have a Nokia mobile which has the SOS button . I think you enter up to five numbers in it and when you press the button it rings the top number to alert that you need help. I don't use that option but it is there . My phone also has a torch which is quite good. I have Talk and Text from Asda (Vodaphone) which gives me unlimited talk/text and costs £4 a month.

OH has a Doro phone which also has the SoS and a torch which is really easy to use . He has his sim card from ee and pays £1 week which is taken from his PAYG account every Monday. He just needs to make sure he has topped up his account which he does every 3mths or so.
Both our phones are old school or dinosaur phones as the gr/sons call them and are easy to use. They are both Flip phone so no accidental button pressing either.

:-D :-D

Edit to add. That a mobile would be good for you to have with you when you are in the garden.

I think some of the mobiles designed for the elderly havean SOS button. But I don't know how that works.

Morning all
Not a happy bunny today as just had an email from tesco to say they have cancelled my slot because of the weather!!

Last 2 days have been severe gales but today is much calmer so dont understand :-S

But this was a big order so now not much i can do! Just so annoying.

Re the landlines being switched off. Up here it has been delayed until 2026/27 as all the people who have the care alarm need another system in place to work when the electric goes off. Eg. if you fell and pressed the alarm, it connects you to someone straightaway who will ring your list of emergency numbers until someone answers.

But if the landline goes, this system will not work when the internet goes off.

So a mobile will be essential especially if you live in rural Scotland as some of us do.

My dad has had a basic mobile for 40 years with no internet and all he does is make calls on it for £9 a month.

So Joan, im sure your daughter could get you this very basic phone for calls only and for emergencies and then you would always have a back up for when the electric goes off.

Right. better get on and decide what we are going to do without the Tesco order!

Florence in the hebrides

I don’t think the standby batteries have much life, which is why I think a mobile is useful.

I also have a basic mobile, which is Pay as you go, and £10 lasts me for months as well. Mine is a Doro and comes with an instruction booklet - so none of this on-line manual nonsense!!

I always have it with me when I'm out, switched off, but for emergencies. It is also useful when travelling by train and running late, as I can contact people to let them know. Nobody rings me on it, and only the immediate family have the number.

It makes calls, sends texts and is a good camera, so is fine for me.

I’ve only got a basic mobile and you get get them with large buttons.

I always lose whatever I am being shown on a smart phone. Also I’m probably driving, have just driven or at home so everyone who knows me uses the landline. My mobile isn’t often switched on. It annoys some folks but if ‘you’ insist on me having a smart phone then ‘you’ can buy it and pay for my calls.

If I am exoec ting a call, such as the flu/ covid ones then my phone is usually on. Helps that OH gets his minutes before me ( on his smart phone :-P)

Hi ArgyllGran.
Thanks for that information, I know nothing about mobile phones, never been intersested in them. I just thought they all came with lots of bells & whistles, I could mayb cope with what you have told me.

Joan.

All you need is a simple basic mobile, which only does calls and texts.

No need for internet access, or apps, or any of that stuff!

Basic phones have buttons to press when "dialling" someone's number - not the tricky touch-screen .

Buy a cheap basic phone outright (approx £50-ish), and a cheap PAYG SIM, with no need for a contract or monthly payments - only pay for the calls you make.
For instance, ASDA Mobile PAYG, which works from Vodafone.

That's what I do.
I hardly ever use the mobile, so £10 of credit lasts me for several months.
You just have to remember to make one call every 6 months, as otherwise the phone number would be discontinued.

Thanks for the replies re the phone, all above my head really LOL, will have to be guided by daughter me thinks,!

As for getting a mobile,I just don't get on with them? just handling my daughters mobile when she would show me something I always managed to press something I shouldn't & lose what she is showing me plus other things as well.
Now when she shows me any new photos she keeps hold of the phone herself !

Joan.

Definitely insist on the battery pack, but maybe it would be worthwhile getting a cheap basic mobile and keep that fully charged. Just use it ocaasionslly.

When they eventually change your phone connection over to digital, Joan, it would be worth asking for a backup battery (free, I believe) , which would mean the phone would still work even if there was a power cut.

Joan, we got switched to digital last week. If your current phone is modern enough to be digital you just plug the telephone connection into the back of your wi-fi hub. You also need an ordinary socket near-by to put the plug in. Then if you want an extension upstairs you can buy another phone (not very expensive) and plug it into a socket in your bedroom.

Hello to all.

The Health Centre has got back to me today re a GP appointment, I have got a 3 week wait as they were unable to give me a morning appointment before that !
Anything earlier were all in the afternoon right on school leaving time which my daughter cannot do, with 3 children at 2 different schools plus the childrens after school clubs my daughter cannot get me to the Health Centre in the afternoons !

I don't have a mobile phone & so I might have to get an extension installed, however aren't "they" going to cut off Land lLnes at some point?
Not sure what I am going to do if & when that happens !

I am feeling OK after the incident the other night, a bit sluggish but I'm ok.
Another grey day here but at least it's dry.

Joan.

I hope that you get a doctor’s appointment quickly Joan. I agree with AG that you really need to have a phone by your bed. If you have a mobile, then you should have it charged on your bedside table. I have my phone charger on my bedside table, so my phone is always there overnight If you don’t have one, you need to have a phone extension put in. It is easy to do and doesn’t cost much to have one put in, but it would keep you safe.

I'm glad you're OK, Joan.
Things like that always seem scarier at night than during the day - as does stormy weather.

Perhaps you should have a phone extension upstairs - or if you have a mobile, take it upstairs with you.

It's very cold and dreary here too. I've had the light on all day, it's so gloomy. The cloud is right down, hiding the top of the hill across the way.