General Chat

Thank you Mel, as you know it is a great comfort to know this lovely group of friends are there is I need to speak about how I feel. I can talk to both daughter and son on line too but don't want to keep on at them as they worry too much and feel they should be doing something. I know that can't it is just a situation that will eventually pass.

Just back from the hairdressers. traffic chaos out there, not sure which is worse on the crossroads at the moment 4 way traffic lights for motorists or no pedestrian lights for pedestrians. We have to sort of join in with the traffic and get across as soon as the traffic on the main road stops on a red light. But it is scary, and then we have to be careful crossing the cycle path. At least they are getting on with putting up the new lights which is something.

Morning girls,

I have been on the phone all morning to BT about my package and its all going up in April so I now have a new package. This is all a learning curve for me and I hope I have done it right.

Its 10 degrees here with sunshine and pc says partly sunny.

We are all thinking of you Anng and you have all our support and just come and tell us any of your worries as we're hear to listen as I know only too well what its like to be on your own but you're not. Email me if you need to.

Good morning all 7 degrees cloudy bright and dry so far. Hair appointment at 12 so that means another walk. at least I am getting exercise this week.

Mandy I do hope that you feel better today. Yes, ring and ask about the blood test. I can't remember, was it a general test or specific to your dizzy spells. don't leave it to the surgery to contact you though Do you have the NHS App on your phone where you can check test results? that will tell you if the results are back or not.

Ann, that sounds quite a water main burst. Hope it is solved now.

Back to school uniforms. Ours was a Co-ed high School. Our winter uniforms like others was gymslips in years one and two and Skirts and blouses afterward. Navy gym slip and skirts, and cardigans (and knickers), white square necked blouses in first two years white shirts in the third year up with a tie. Navy blue blazers, macs or coats, black shoes in winter, brown sandals in summer. Skirts below the knee, cardigan sleeves not rolled up 'like washerwomen'. Our blazer badges and beret (also navy) badges were a yellow Lion with the motto Vincit Veritas on the badge (truth conquers). Our gym shorts were navy blue and our ties were navy with a yellow stripe. We wore plimpsoles for gym. I had a velour hat in the first year, my Mother's choice but they were being phased out by then so beret afterwards. Scarves and girdles were yellow and navy striped but were not compulsory wear.

I am struggling a bit at the moment with 'looking on the bright side' of my prospective operation. I am normally quite a positive person but at the moment can only see negatives in the situation. I really must give myself a shake and find the positives.

Good morning

I’ve been up since 6 am but I couldn’t get signed in to Genes. It just kept telling me to enter a valid email address even though I had done that several times. Grrr

It’s dry and cloudy but there’s rain promised for this afternoon. I have to go into town for my meds so I think I’ll do that this morning while it’s still dry. Otherwise I have no plans for the day.

I hope you start feeling a bit better today Mandy.

Wishing you better tomorrow Mandy. <3 Hope the blood test finds something at least you would know what it is and perhaps get some treatment for it. <3 <3

Evening all,

It's been a nice sunny day but a bit chilly .

No Ann I never got to my sisters as my head has been bad but I did ring and say happy birthday ,it eases a little if I take a cocodamol, I'm wondering if it's migraine, it's pressure over my eyes they feel quire sore ,think I might ring tomorrow and see if the blood result is back although they said they would ring if it showed anything .

Anng I'm glad the bus journey was OK, my goodness that consultant could have been a bit more tactful, your nervous enough without someone being so abrupt, I hope your appointment soon comes through for you .

That's enough screen time for me ,see you tomorrow.

Evening All,

We had rain first thing, but it soon stopped and we had some sunshine but it's dull now. When we called at the shop earlier, just after turning out of our close we saw a water main had burst with water pouring down the road. In the middle of the road was a 2-3 foot circle of breaks in the tarmac, each with a fountain of water coming out. I've filled the kettle, but last time it happened they let us know by text as we are now considered to be vulnerable at our ages!

I'm glad the journey today turned out well for you AnnG, but it's a pity the consultant was so blunt. The important thing though, as you say, is that it has to be done and that you will get your apointment within a few weeks.

Well your senior school uniforms sound nicer than mine. Mine was bottle green and we were called the 'greencoats'. Our benefactor Alderman Gabriel Newton set up a school in the city for a small number of the poor boys to give them a good start in life and he clothed them in a good quality green uniform, hence the greencoat name. It was my least favourite colour. If you didn't like your school hats, you would have liked the sailor style hats we wore even less! Part of our winter uniform,they were bottle green worn with the green bow with the school badge above it just in front of your left ear. Like Vera, we wore gymslips (green) the first 2 years then green skirts. We wore cream blouses, but changed to white by the time I was in the 4th year as white was easier to source. We had to wear a green tie with a thin red stripe and a green, zipped, felt purse on a green cord was compulsory and had the school badge sewn on. Our scarves had wide, red and green stripes. No white socks in winter, only grey or bottle green and only brown laceup shoes. A green cardigan or v necked jumper could be hand knitted like mine. We even had bottle green knickers!! I mentioned our gingham dresses in 2 colours, but it was short white socks only and brown sandals. They were your indoor shoes too that you would change into in winter. For gym we wore black knickers with side stripes in your house colour (red in my case) and a square necked white aertex shirt. We did gym in bare feet, but wore plimsoles for netball. For hockey we had green skirt style shorts.

We were not allowed to run in corridors, stood up when a teacher came in a room and had to open doors for teachers, including outside doors. We weren't allowed to eat outside the school premises in the street if we were in school uniform and if you were seen doing it it meant detention. After my first year we moved to our newly built school that had individual desks with space around them so there was no chatting to each other or copying! We were constantly told we were very priviledged to be there as lots of other girls would be glad to take our places and were expected to not waste the opportunity. If we did work that was marked with an A three consecutive times in a row, we would get a credit mark, which was a half page size green stamp in your book that you would have to go to the headmistress's room to have stamped. You'd knock and wait outside her door to be called in. She wore her black gown all the time.

I still have one of our homework timetables somewhere and I think we had about 2 hours homework a night and I think there were 32 girls in my class.

OH got an email from the council today to say they'd got the Marriott Hotel to cancel his parking fine, so he was glad about that. They added that he was too valuable a member to lose which he was also pleased about.

Today we have paid for our rush of activity yesterday with achey sides and backs and OH seems to have hurt the back of his ankle somehow after he'd been up a while this morning and has been hobbling about.

I hope Mandy felt ok today and managed to go to her sister's.

Yes, AnnG, it must have been expensive for parents. It was strange in that the winter uniform never changed but the summer uniform changed 3 times in the 7 years I was there. You could buy the summer dress material and make your own to a standard pattern so it worked out a bit cheaper. My mother was no dressmaker but a neighbour was good with her sewing machine so she made mine. Your school was more advanced than mine as we weren't allowed long white socks. We had a choice of white ankle socks or long brown or grey socks. After about the first year I refused to wear brown or grey so I wore white ankle socks all year round and in winter my legs used to get quite chapped. I remember one girl when we were about 14 taking a chance and coming to school in long white socks. She wasn't sent home but it was made very clear that she was never to come to school in them again.

I wrote that last post ages ago and did'nt post it once again.

My uniform in the senior school was a navy skirt with white long sleeved shirt and a v neck navy jumper. The summer dress was of cotton and a light navy blue with white polka dots. Mum made mine and I had two dresses and I think we had a navy cardi with the summer dresses. We had short sleeved white tops for PE and a wrap around navy short skirt, white socks and plimsoles. You had to keep your sport things in the cloakroom in a draw string bag. Thats something else I hated the smell of the things in the bag. It must have been the rubber soles of the gym shoes.I must admit to hating school right thrrough the secondary up to the day I left when I cut my skirt into inch strips and my best friend cried and I could'nt understand why!!

Another smell I really hate is Herb Robert I call it stink weed and it grows all over my garden here.

Vera that keep changing the uniform sounds expensive for parents and meant not being able to pass items down as well. We had a choice of four colours for our dresses, they were the 4 house colours. Red, blue, green and yellow,= Romans Trojans, Spartans and???? We had Navy blue cardigans and Navy blazers and long white socks in winter, short white socks in summer and we wee allowed to wear Clarks style sandals in summer but we wore our much hated navy blue berets all year round.

I did manage to nip into M&S and buy a pair of denim blue jeans on my way through town.

Gwyn that is a new one then? Gardening before breakfast, don't think I will join that one, I have to work up to it.

good luck with your appointment tomorrow. :-)

I know just how you feel Gwyn.

As I said before we have no post van this week as the driver is on holiday so I have to go to Holsworthy post office and I have two parcels to take but there are things on Ebay that finish today but there are no bids on them yet. If I go today they are sure to sell and if I don't go they most probably will be relisted. The shopping comes tomorow so I would have to go in the afternoon after it has arrived.

AnnG, I'm pleased the bus journey worked OK and you at least now know what is going to happen but it does sound as though the doctor needs a few lessons in "bedside manner". Hopefully someone will be available to go with you when you get a date for the op.

Gardening before breakfast Gwyn? That's what I call dedication! It is amazing how you only mean to do one little thing, then you see another weed or a plant that needs staking and before you know it an hour has gone by. I hope your hospital appointment goes well tomorrow.

I couldn't remember how long we had as an Easter break at school but googling schooling in the 1950s suggested that we had about 2 weeks. I do remember that half term breaks were only 2 days and I don't think they were called half term then. I know that the May one was always called the Whitsun holiday and we had Whit Monday, which was a bank holiday, and the Tuesday off school. As for uniform at grammar shool, our winter one was fairly standard, navy blue gym slip for the first 2 years and navy skirt for third year up, white blouse, navy cardi and school tie but our summer dresses were a nightmare as the school kept changing the summer uniform. When I started there we had rather nice check dresses in blue, green or red with navy blazer. Then this was changed to a horrible check as dresses for first 2 years and then skirts with short sleeved white blouses for 3rd years up. My mother hated the skirts which she said looked like tablecloths. Then, blow me, if they didn't change again. This time we had very nice material in small checks without white e.g. the checks were yellow and brown or red and grey etc. The trouble was that there was a choice of 7 colours! Again the first 2 years only got 3 or maybe 4 to choose from, 3rd years up got all 7. Oh, and we had to wear hats if we were outside, so winter we had horrible navy blue velour hats with red hatband and summer we had straw panamas with red hat band. Goodness Annx, you brought back some memories with your question about school holidays.

The weather keeps switching from sunshine to dark clouds and there is still quite a strong, cold wind but at least it has stayed dry. As it's a good blowing day I changed the beds this morning and have washed the bedding and all the clothes we have worn in the last week and I've also managed a little bit of gardening. Now I'm trying to decide whether I've got the energy to get the vacuum cleaner out.

Well the early bus trip worked OK, Helped by the fact that they still have the blanket offer of £2. for any journey. I was in town by 9am and the walk down to the hosptal took me 15 minutes which is good going as it is a fair distance, but I am a medium fast steady walker. so I was at the hospital early which is fine. I visited the loo, walked round smiths and then sat people watching until 0940 when I checked in on the machine and made my way to ENT which was quite busy but seemed to be moving fast, I don't know how many consultants were on duty. My appointment was for 10.00 and i went in at about 10.10 so very good.

Yes Gwyn is right it was a consultation and pre-op not the actual op. I am not sure what to make of the consultant he was fine, I would say Asian(I can't even begin to pronounce either his name or his nurse/assistant's name. He seemed okish but very blunt, not chatty friendly, didn't even say good morning how are you but launched straight into telling me why I was there. (which I knew), He started to exp[lain my problem to me, looked at it with a strong light/magnifier and said bluntly, 'It's skin cancer', instead of using the correct name of Basal cell carcinoma. He explained how they would do the op, how much they had to cut, said it would be quite big would change the shape of my nose and probably wouldn't look very nice. (which I knew but how is that for a morale booster?) He said 'Happy'? I pointed out I had no choice then he said that some patients say they don't want an operation!!! At which I then told him how many times I have had this done before, just not in such a sensitive place and that I have no option but to have the op. He did then stop and read the notes on his screen which were obviously a record of all the BCCs I have had removed before. Meanwhile his very nice young female assistant kept me grounded by laughing at some of the things I Said and keeping her hand on my shoulder.
Anyway he said, 'OK we do the operation' I asked and it will be local anaesrhetic but probably done in the main surgery at Glos royal. I asked how long before there would be an appointment and he just said 'weeks, not too long, but it doesn't matter leaving it as it won't grow'.
I then had to complete the pre-op questionnaire and have my BP taken, get weighed and then do a test for MRSI which is a bit like the covid test only one wand just goes inside each nostril and then one wand has to wipe across each groin (so off I had to go to the loo to do that bit.)

So now I have the wait until I get an appointment for the op. I definitely won't look forward to that one. But has to be done.

I think AnnG's visit today is a consultation rather than actual treatment, so hopefully they will be able to talk through what is the next step.

I was gardening before breakfast time today!
I wanted to catch the early morning post, so got dressed with hat, scarf and coat on and walked the short distance to the post box. When I reached home again, I thought ' I'll just pull up those stray pieces of grass at the base of a pyrocantha '..., then dug a thistle out of the front lawn. Before I knew it, about three quarters of an hour had passed. I would have done more, but I have a hospital appointment tomorrow and don't want to look too much like an old crock, so I will leave extra gardening until another day ;-)

I don't like the smell of deisel or petrol. Honey is ok with me and I like the smell of hyacinths and lilly of the valley. I do like the smell of raosting meat but not mince cooking or the smell of ash trays even though I do smoke but only outside and never in the house.With my CCS there are lot of smells I can taste. I can't wear perfume or scented deoderent or any cleaning products but the lemon scented ones and have to hold my breath using bleach andget otside quickly when I do as it seems to cling to my clothes.

As to the Easter holidays I think we had about 2 weeks buy maybe a day or two shorter. We never had a week for half term only a few days and used to look forward to the summer holidays and they seemed so long when I was young but now with the children next door they seem to pass very quickly.

I expect Anng is going through he op now and hope it all goes well. Sending love and wishes that it does. Its not nice when you are on your own with nobody waiting for you when you come out to take you somewhere nice to take your mind off things.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Morning all,

we are all thinking of you today Anng so sending love.

9 degrees and raining, dull and grey.

Our post van is'nt there this week as he had to take his holiday or lose it so I have to go into town to post some parcels which is a nuisance as that trip is 18 miles at least there and abck and I only went in last week. Apart from that the rest of the day is mine.

I ache a bit this morning from the gardening yesterday but its worth it to get soemthing done out there. It was just like a spring day yesterday and now its spoilt by rain. I really thought we may be getting somehwere but no.

Hope you all slept better last night so are rested today.

Good morning all. Up early to make sure of catching the bus but a bit too early really. I didn't want to go back to sleep.
Oh yes my front garden border is full of grape \Hyacinths. I wish the leaves were as attractive as the flowers.

Going back to smells. I was thinking that there are some I don't like but they are usually when travelling on public transport. Cigarette smoke, stale cooking (frying) oil, strong perfumes such as 'Poison', garlic any of those embedded in clothes I find horrible.

I hope it turns out to be an easy journey for you tomorrow AnnG and that you have a good chat with them. I'd forgotten we changed to our summer uniforms after easter. I remember we wore our summer dresses (red or green gingham) with our blazers, but if we wore our macs with our summer uniform we had to wear our hats as well.

You must be right about our easter holidays then Gwyn. Maybe I'm remembering the much shorter time off we had at work. I have some bluebells but mine are pink and I brought them from my old house over 20 years ago. I must check if they are about to flower as they are in a sunny spot, but where it can be windy. I've never thought whether they are english or not, but I suspect not being pink. I am overun with grape hyacinths. They look lovely when they are in flower but not afterwards.

It is very strange that I actually like the smells you all dislike. I like the smell of honey, roast meat, hyacinths, linseed oil and live honeyed parsnips. I don’t always buy honey because of keeping sugar down but I like honey on bread or toast too.
I can’t at the moment think of smells I dislike except gloss paint.

I don’t remember how long holidays were at Easter but I know we did have a holiday as when we returned to school we had to wear our summer uniform. In my case it was square necked candy striped dresses and we had to have at least one I. Our house colours. Mine was blue.

I hope all goes well with your hospital visit AnnG.
I'll be thinking of you making an early start.

Interesting to read about all your dislikes of certain smells.
I really don't like the smell of meat roasting and I only have to hear mention on a cookery programme or KFC advert about crisping skin or fried chicken and I feel the hairs on my arms prickling. In fact I can feel it just writing that :-0

A chilly day here, although bright and dry all day. I never got into the garden to tackle our ivy, which seems determined to take over. I don't mind it so much in the real winter months, as it probably provides a cover and food source for small creatures, but it is getting the upperhand, so needs taming. I saw an old gardening programme on TV this morning and Carol Klein was talking about trying to increase the ivy in her garden.
It does very well here with no help whatsoever !

Ann
I think we must have had a fair while for our Easter holidays, because every year, either at Easter or in the summer, we travelled to Wales to see Mum's relations. I certainly wouldn't have had time off school, so we must have had at least about 2 weeks off school to make it worth the long journey.
Our local school breaks up this coming Thursday afternoon and goes back on 15th April.

I walked to see if I could see the swans a few days ago. They weren't there, but I think there was a flattening and gathering of reeds where they nest. There were 2 large swansdown feathers on the 'nest' area , so watch this space.

Bluebells are almost out in our front garden, which catches a lot of sun. They are the Spanish ones, so not the pretty deep blue of the native ones, but a welcome splash of colour to show that warmer days are ahead.