General Chat

I see The Works are stopping selling online, although you can still see what they have on their website. Sales will all be through their shops.

The soil at my last house had a lot of clay, especially where a sewer pipe to an estate beyond a playing field at the back of us had been buried deeply through our garden. We never knew about it till we wanted to build a brick garage (naughty solicitor hadn't found out when we bought). I used to try modelling with it! First OH brought dozens of bags of mill waste he bought from where he worked to improve it, but it never was very good like it is here. We are trying to get our garden bin filled to put out next week too Gwyn and I think it is half full now so we are getting there.

Yes it's the same every Spring as you say Mandy! We always feel we could do a bit more and then wish we hadn't. :-S I hope you haven't set your back off either.

I did suggest to him a while ago that OH could use one of our small wheeled holiday cases (we have one each) as I used to use one at work to help my back. It was still heavy when you had to go upstairs at places though which he has to do sometimes and he does tend to walk fast, even now, and I could imagine the wheels falling off bumping up the kerbs!! He's mostly emptied his briefcase now, but even empty it's heavy. He seems more keen on getting a lighter one if he can. I think we need to look at what's available, even a manbag might do.

AnnG I haven't fancied much that M&S have had this year. It's good they stock trousers in 25" length though which is what I have. I tend to wear my old stuff round the house, unless expecting visitors or workmen. It always reminds me of a schoolfriend whose parents moved from a modest semi to a quite grand detatched house that the front door opened onto a big hallway with a fancy staircase winding up the walls. She told me her mother once opened the front door in her cleaning clothes and the person asked to see the lady of the house!! lol. That was good getting a refund and still keeping the goods.

What a shame No1 granddaughter has a cold Vera and won't be able to see you. Sensible to keep away though as your OH has only just got better from the nasty infection. It was good you had a video face to face chat with the Hong Kong granddaughter. Is all going well with the shows she is in? It must be a great experience and building her confidence. Sounds like you may need a rest now to help your back and head.

It's not been a good week for you has it Mel! Still at least you know with a few extra pounds put on your knickers are secure and won't fall down. :-D What makes your leccy keep going off, as I've never heard of it happening to anyone else and have you managed to speak to the water people yet?

I will be glad when this week is over ................Iv'e just put the washing on the line and fed the big fish and noticed their pump is not working again so now I have to go and hang out the shed window and grab the robe with the pump on it and give it a jiggle about and see if I can get it going again....... It did this to me the begining of the week.

I had a quick look round M&S, nothing there to tempt me, had a coffee (because I was due a free one) in the usual cafe plus a pastry and a very quick look in TK Max. It was very busy in town, even at 1030 it was full of young teenagers. I think that must be due to the fact the new part of Gloucester Uni is now open and there are I think, a lot of student accommodations in town. No bad behaviour just a lot of laughing and talking, brightened the town up. I ended up in Bon Marche and bought another pair of the lightweight pull on trousers I wear around the house and locally (25 inch). so that was my lot, my legs were tired by then so I unfolded my stick and made my way back to the bus hub. I was home just after half twelve.
Tesco took me by surprise. Door knocked at 2pm, my slor 3-4pm. Mr Tesco asked if it was ok if he was early. so that was well out of the way before time. He did ask if it had inconvenienced me at all which it had not. And, he nooticed that the raspberries were dated tomorrow, and I noted something else the same so I have had over £5 refunded but kept the goods.

Sorry to hear that you have got mower trouble again Mel. Is the mower under guarantee or will it mean more expense for you?

I know exactly what you mean about the clay soil Gwyn. Our last house was on London Boulder Clay and, like you say, it was either a bog or dried out and cracked open. The good thing about clay is that it is generally fertile so provided plants have got good strong roots when you plant them they usually grow well. We often grew plants on in pots for a couple of years before putting them out in the ground.

No.1 granddaughter is down from Edinburgh for a couple of days and staying with daughter and they were coming for Sunday lunch tomorrow but rang this morning to say granddaughter had woken with a streaming cold and doesn’t want to risk infecting us, particularly as OH has only just got over a nasty infection. We appreciate her concern but are disappointed not to see her. However I did have a nice surprise yesterday - a video phone call from granddaughter no.3 in Hong Kong It was lovely to chat face to face for half an hour.

I have slept quite well this week until last night when I couldn’t settle at all. Then as it was dry and bright this morning I decided to risk doing some gardening. I won’t bore you with all I did but I was out there nearly 2 hours. I feel I achieved something but, although I was careful, I think I overdid it a bit so I’m lying on the bed again. Back’s OK, just a bit twingey, but my head isn’t good. I am going to try and have a little snooze now.

Afternoon all,

Lovely warm sunny day here it was very very foggy first thing but it soon cleared .
I have a couple of loads of washing on the line and I should think its all dry with the sunshine.

Anng hope tye mist learned so you could get into town .

Mel that was good you've sold the cockerel sounds as if it was just right for that ladies market with the tudor house.

Gwyn hope you can get the ivy cut back so you can fill your garden bin ready for the emptying this week our bin goes out tomorrow ready for Monday morning and we got our grass cut last Wednesday and it was a lot longer than we realised so the poor mower struggled a bit but we got it done .

Ann we never learn do we ,when we start the gardening in the spring we all seem to get the twinges as we try and do to much ,I lifted the mower out of the shed and got the boxes with the green house bits in off a shelf in the shed and now my side keeps twinging .
Would one of those small pull along cases help OH ,he could pull it instead of carrying his bag and laptop , one of those small ones you can take on the plane ,you can get pull along bags too .

BIL has been mowing the top field and came down about half an hour ago and said the new mowers drive shaft has gone. Its now parked in the garage and he will ring to have it collected which means I can't go out if I wanted to cos I don't know when they are coming and it also means I shall have to push it up the ramps into his high van.

MEN!!!!

A lovely morning here and now about 9 degrees.
The sun has been shining since early morning, certainly it was full-on before 7 a.m, when I went to put the kettle on for a morning cuppa.

That sounds a good home for your cockerel, Mel.
What's the nexr project or is your garden making you too busy now?

I remember those mists AnnG from when we lived in Swindon Village near Cheltenham. I hope you enjoy your trip to town. I will be thinking of you on Wednesday.
I have an outpatient appointment at Canterbury and I've just realised that is the day that all the big-wigs and important guests will be descending on the city for the installation of the new lady Archbishop. The hospital is not to near the cathedral, so hopefully it won't affect us.

Garden bin will be collected this coming week, so I need to tackle the ivy etc. in the back garden to justify collection cost.
Daughter says she will gave the grass it's first cut, now that we have had a few days of better weather and it's had a chance to dry out. We are on heavy clay and it's either like a squelchy bog or like last summer, dry with huge deep cracks :-0

Morning All,

Another sunny morning but both of us have back twinges after the bit we did in the garden yesterday. OH has also been carrying his briefcase and laptop to meetings too, so is being careful with his back today. He is off to a match this afternoon.

I'm off to the shop shortly and need to do a wash when I get back and get the pork chops for tomorrow out of the freezer. I'll see what I will do after that.

I like that AnnG about seeing where your brain goes! It's a good idea to keep busy and keep your mind off the hospital visit. Have you got a lift to take you? It will be good to get it sorted before you go away.

That was good you sold the cockerel Mel. It only needs one person to bid and it sounds like it will fit in nicely with her things.

fog gone sunny but 3 degrees.

Morning all,

No mist here Anng but Ithink there must have been a frost earlier as there patterns on my car windscreen. Its 7 degrees here and very sunny.

BIL is coming again today so I need to get showered and dressed.

Nothing planned for today.

I sold the Cockerel in its crate along with other things to a lady who has a Tudor house with a market outside. She was the first and only bidder although there were 9 people watching it.

that mist is now thick fog. The joys of living in the Severn Valley.

good morning all. a bit misty here this morning and 4 degrees. I think it is supposed to go up to 14 later. I may go into town on the bus. anything to take my mind off the hospital visit next Wednesday. I sort of feel I should be doing some more on the garden so I will see which way my brain goes after breakfast.

Yes a couple of hours in some garden centres is like spending a day in town shopping.

I have noticed though that annual plants, bedding, basket plants etc all tend to be identical in the large garden centres.

The tyre repair kits have an expiry date on them usually Mel which might be why it didn't work. Like I said to you before I won't use mine as you can't repair the puncture after using it. It's a temporary repair and you are forced to buy a new tyre. I just got a spare wheel instead. It's a pity Bill didn't think to ring the breakdown people first isn't it, but he may have panicked.

That was lucky you spotted BIL was filling the wrong car before he'd emptied all the diesel into it!!

I agree it is nice visiting the bigger garden centres when you want to have a day out AnnG. I do the same and it's like a gift shop, clothes shop, card shop. shoe shop, ironmongers, furniture shop, aquariums and cafe rolled into one and you can have a break with a drink and meal or snack as well. Round here though, there is only this one that is a proper nursery. and has unusual plants. The others just don't have room anymore to carry the same extensive range of plants.

O and I meant to say when I drove through the village by the bus shelter there's a new Cake Safe opened today. Its open till 7pm and has fairy lights round it. There a calulater inside and a metal cash box fixed to the wall you can paid by cash or phone. Lots of choice and some in plastic tubs with sealed lids. Most £3.50 some £3.00 I bought a chocolate browny with cornflake nest on top with three cadbury choc eggs in the middle Even a plactic fork sealed in a bag if needed. I only ate half as it was quite large and shall have the rest later.

I hope she does well, the lady in front of me said she is a local mum who child goes to the school and she makes smashing cakes.

Went to the doc for the foot doctor and it was his half day and he had gone by the time I went in at 12.45pm. As I went in there was an elderly man standing by his car and he had a puncture, he'd looked in the boot and there was no spare just a bottle of liquid rubber and a pump. I told him what it was and he had no idea how to use it so I tried to help him. So we opened the bottle of rubber and the pump which were both in poly bags got all the leads and connecters out and put them all together via the picture instructuions on the pump. Managed to get the rubber solution in the tyre but would the pump pump the tyre up???? NO. I rang Stu to see if he could come down and help but he was'nt acvailable and James could'nt leave the garage. By this time the man had told me he was disbetic and needed to eat at 1pm and take insulin. I went into the surgery to see if Kate, Stu's ex wife was still there but she had left as it was her birthday. I thought she may have known how to do this thing. So back out I go to Bill who had already rung his sister for her tocome and pick him up but her and hubby were in Launston. In the end he told me he had fully com cover and rang them us for breakdown assistance and they said they would come and bring a new tyre.

I had asked him where he lived and was going to run him home if he was local but he lived in Ashwater which is not really local to me. I had to go and get diesel as I was nearly out so knew I had enough to get me to Hatherleigh. In the end he was told the recovery people would take an hour to get there so what I did was offer to take him down the pub in the village so he could get something to eat to which he agreed. He even asked me if I would like togo with him and he'd buy me a drink. I declined. Came back home and rang Hatherleigh garage to make sure they had diesel and they had so off I went to buy some. It was 1.79 something a litre. BIL said it was 1.59 in Sainsburys to which I then replyed thats to far to go. He had brought down a can of diesel for me and he was putting it in my car when I happened to look out of the wind and had to bang like crazy on the window as he was putting it in my old car!!!!! He stopped but he thinks it was just under half the five litres that accually went in my fresh car. Anyway it got me to the service station and I got some fuel.

Now the day has gone and I hav'nt done a thing. :-( Another lovely day wasted.

I meant to say Vera that your description of copy and pasting is exactly how I do it albeit not these days in word as I no lunger have it. I think Mel is relying on highlighting what she has typed in the Genes reply bos to be able to paste it if it disappears but that sometimes it disappears before she catches it. Much better to do it as Vera says Mel.

Ann I do like the smaller garden centres, nurseries but I also prefer thos when they add a small cafe. For me, having a quick look round then having a coffee/tea while thinking about what I have seen is all part of a lovely relaxing day out. I so miss being able to do that as neither Cynth nor my other neighbour who takes me out really enjoy garden centres. Cynth does sometimes but she buys all her plants on line and Louise has a lawn and nothing else, she is not a gardener. At least both son and daughter are happy to visit garden centres.

Afternoon All,

Nice and sunny here so we both did another 15 minutes tidying and weeding outside and came in before we started aching much and came to a standstill anyway. We went out to the garden centre in the sticks to look at their slate chippings as they have some green ones we want to have in the front garden. It was nice to visit what I call a proper, old fashioned nursery with no cafe that has many more varieties of many more plants. I was tempted, but resisted till we have made the garden easier or I would only have to move things again. They had runners and sweet peas and other veg seedlings too.

There has been some concern about effects of these proton pump inhibitor drugs for many years and it was known that they reduce absorption of things needed for health like calcium and magnesium from food. OH has taken them for years and since his cardiac arrest the doctor has doubled his to protect his stomach lining because of all the other tablets he has to take as well now. Although there can be problems with them, there can be a risk from acid reflux if you don't take them, which is changes in the base of the esophagus called Barrette's esophagus which can progress to the esophageal cancer that our dear friend Jane had.

There are things you can do yourself to reduce the indigestion like no large meals that increase pressure in your stomach, not have meals high in fat, especially in the evening and not within a few hours before lying down. Smoking makes it worse, as does caffeine, alcohol, chilli and other spicy foods. Also you need a nutritious diet if all of the goodness doesn't get absorbed.

You were busy early to be done ready for Jake's arrival AnnG and it sounds like they have done well and worked hard which is good. Getting things done does cost a lot nowadays as you say and, like you years ago I thought nothing of doing the garden and even painting the fences and building our water feature, but now I consider it pay back time and what money we saved then can be used to pay someone to do the things we find difficult now! :-) It's a bonus that things get done quickly too.

Oh Vera you are having a difficult and stressful time with what's going on and not feeling good either. I hope you manage to eat today and are beginning to improve now. Don't worry about commenting on posts as we all understand and just want you to be feeling better soon. You do copy and paste exactly the same way as me (when I remember!)

Keep up the no smoking Mel, it is so much better for you and will give you more money in your pocket too.

annoying about the Omeprazole Mel but I too have read all sorts about long use of it so, if you can persevere try and do without it and try gaviscon if you actually get indigestion, don't just take gaviscon in case. If you have the burning in your throat try a glass of cold water. Defintely try to do without Omeprazole though.

Good to see you hovering on the edge of the land of the living VEra. I hope a further day with screens off limits will help you to recover completely.
glad that you like the photos.

Mandy that is annoying if your haor actually needs cutting, still not long to wait.

Jake and his Dad have finished now and gone and it all looks very clean and tidy out there. I know it is a lot of money to pay out and, if I was younger I would do half of it myself. But no way could I clear it in two half days like they can they both work flat out and both have tidied up really well too.

I have spent the time they were here clearing out and sorting two jewellery boxes.Quite a few pieces for charity so they can go to Irene Most of the rest will probably not be worn by me but are kept for nostalgic reasons. Like the two silver charm bracelets. most of the stuff in both boxes is non expensive. Anything worth anything is locked in the safe (and therefore never gets worn.)

Good morning all

I am sort of back in the land of the living though not right yet so I am limiting my screen time. I managed to eat most of my dinner last night which was good as I have been struggling to eat much. My back has also improved a lot in the last couple of days. It has been a stressful few days as our dear friend who is just receiving palliative care now was moved from hospital to a specialist nursing home on Monday. At first he seemed to rally a little but then quickly deteriorated. His sister is with him and there are constant emails going back and forth between us as I try to support her, having been in the position of losing a much loved younger brother myself. The difference between us is that, because of Covid and lockdown, I (and AnnG with her lovely T.) weren’t able to be with our loved ones.

I have managed to read all your posts but won’t comment on them now, except to thank AnnG for the photos she sent. The garden you visited looks lovely.

I also wanted to say to Mel a big Well Done for not smoking for 12 weeks. That’s a big achievement and you can be proud of yourself. Did you know there has been a lot online and in the papers recently about the damage that can be caused by taking Omeprazole and other drugs of that sort long term? As I understand it you can feel worse for a couple of weeks after coming off them but, if your doctor says you should come off them, try and stick with it and manage with Gaviscon or something similar. If you really are desperate you can buy them over the counter but they are expensive and you only get 7 tablets in the pack. I am also very confused about how you are still losing posts if you are doing copy and paste. Where are you typing your post? I apologise if I am teaching my grandmother to suck eggs but what I do is go into Word and open a new document. You have probably got Word but if you haven’t you will have some document writing programme. I then type the first sentence or so that I am going to write and then press Save As and give it a name and save the document to one of my files. Then I just type away and every couple of sentences I just press Save. When I’m finished I highlight all the typing I’ve done, right click and press Copy, then go to the Genes box, right click there and press Paste, then Submit as usual. It sounds long winded but it is really very easy and you can’t lose your post because you have it saved. If for some reason it doesn’t go through first time you can copy and paste again. Once you’ve submitted your post you can delete the Word document from your files if you want.

Here endeth the lecture. I’m going to come off the computer for a while now. Have a good day everyone.