General Chat

Good morning all. 9 degrees and bright/sunny. Slept well but woke at 0515 and then just dozed until 0715. Legs are (of course0 stiff.
U3a monthly meeting this afternoon. Not sure what the speaker is to talk about as it has changed from the original. I think it is something about the Gloucester flood of 2007.

Ann there are vaccines or boosters offered to older children for all the meningitis strains except Meningitis B. Which is what the current strain is. Or I think that is what I read

And the amount of mt water bill succumbed to IPad disease when I wrote it. Or finger trouble my water bill is 29.83 a month not 89. Sorry.

my magnolia is just opening its flowers and the forsythia is fully out now. All the daffs in bthe orchard are in flower too and there's primroses everywhere.

take a look at this.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UMmhgBPcKMY

I had to watch it twice.

I missd you there Mandy. It's good you feel you can do a bit more now, but don't overdo it. It's good you will get the ECG tomorrow and tablet review to follow and then a blood test next. It should all help sort you out and feeling better.

Yes, I thought today that it would be best to not cut each chain till I was sure I'd got it right first Mandy and AnnG is right that I need to be in the right frame of mind or it will go wrong!

That was a good walk AnnG and I wish I could still manage to do the same. I hope your legs won't be stiff tomorrow after the steeper bit. I hadn't heard of that castle so looked it up and it is huge isn't it and has nice gardens? I remember you talking about the new group now and you have found some varied and interesting things to do so it seems to be working well. The Primroses must have been a nice surprise!

I thought all first year students had been offered meningitis vaccines for some years now. Maybe the current vaccine doesn't cover this strain though. Wasn't it Canterbury that Jane's son went to?

I have washed a load of tops and dried them. They have to be done on a low temperature as they partly consist of bamboo, so I save them up to do together and add laundry wash as it's a cool wash. I noticed there are self set yellow Violas in flower in a couple of the pots and the Polygala are showing some purple.

Just come back from the docs as I went to pick up my inhailer as I forgot on Friday. The surgery in the next village where I go is open till 6pm for scripts and while I was there the receptionist and I worked out how to fit the jucie in it and turn it one. We had to do one puff towards the ground and now its ready to use. Never had an inhailer before and I am hoping its nothing like the ventolin I had a puff of once as that was awful and I could taste it for hours.

That certainly is shocking about the meningitis in Canterbury and I too hope there's no more deaths. I just hope the students are sensible enough to stay away from each other at a distance and don't start parties and gatherings etc. As Anng said I hope they have learnt szomething from covid.

Mandy you've been busy now slow down a bit and have a rest and a cuppa.

No joy with the water board they say I have a smart meter now and the last few times in the past year or so it has been estimated and now its caught up. I don't think that can be right and I am going to have a look at my other bills. I think it was 2024 when I had the bad leak so perhaps they are just trying to get some of the money back that I did'nt have to pay. We'll see...

Hopefully something was learnt from Covid about keeping a distance to avoid contagion, no hugging etc. which might help but schools and colleges have groups in close contact. Hopefully there can be a vaccination programme to fight it. I do hope there won’t be any more deaths.

Ann sorry you asked what was the purpose of the group. It is called ladybirds, all female (yes We can do it as there is a possibility for men to do the same.)

There is no hard and fast purpose, part social but members it is hoped can organise a meeting as they wish about anything and members can attend any they are interested in.. we had a coffee morning meet at a garden centre, a social get together at Christmas, a craft meeting, wine tasting, behind the scenes in the theatre followed by lunch, a book interest meeting. We only started the group in November.

Hopefully something was learnt from Covid about keeping a distance to avoid contagion, no hugging etc. which might help but schools and colleges have groups in close contact. Hopefully there can be a vaccination programme to fight it. I do hope there won’t be any more deaths.

Ann sorry you asked what was the purpose of the group. It is called ladybirds, all female (yes We can do it as there is a possibility for men to do the same.)

There is no hard and fast purpose, part social but members it is hoped can organise a meeting as they wish about anything and members can attend any they are interested in.. we had a coffee morning meet at a garden centre, a social get together at Christmas, a craft meeting, wine tasting, behind the scenes in the theatre followed by lunch, a book interest meeting. We only started the group in November.

Your walk sounds lovely and you did well to manage it, after your leg has not been so good lately. I can just imagine those primroses, - lovely.

It is indeed worrying about the meningitis and so sad for the university student and the 6th former, who have died. The speed of how it hits is so worrying.I was at Canterbury hospital on Friday.
Canterbury has so many students and naturally they group together socially. I hope the outbreak can be stopped very soon.
Worrying too that people will soon be coming to Canterbury from far and wide for the Cathedral service for the new Archbishop.
I hope everyone is safe.

Well it was a good walk, I was convinced it was a mile walk before lunch but I misheard, 1 mile there and back. So, I did it, 2 miles, a lot of fairly flat walking on country lanes and gravelled footpaths plus one riverside path. there were some slightly hilly bits the worst being quite a steep slope up to the main road through winchcombe.at the end of the walk We walked past Soudely Castle and just by there, there was a field completely covered in primroses, beautiful, some of the scenery was fields but lots of trees starting to bud. Lots of birds to listen to and a Red Kite overhead. By the end my leg was pulling a bit and painful but I was so pleased to have done it.
Lunch was in a pub in the town so, as we were early we walked a little way looking in shop windows. For lunch I had scampi and chips in a basket, quite Retro, well cooked, I enjoyed it.

Mel my water bill is £89.83 a month (89.49 for 3 months). Hope that you can get yours checked out.

Mandy, you have done enough for today I think. Rest now.

Ann, no good starting that job until you actually feel like doing it. It will only go wrong.

Mandy I meant to say yes the meningitis outbreak is frightening isn't it. Thos poor students who have died awful for their families.

Afternoon All,

Slept well again, but awake from 5.00am. As the window cleaner was due I decided to get up at 7.30 am to have my shower in case he was early. OH followed me in afterwards and it was a good job we were up early as he arrived as we were getting dressed, but no curtains were open. ;-) I went to EWM in the garden centre down the road for 9.00am whe they open to see some more jackets similar to the one in the parcel the couriers lost, but they hadn't had them in yet. I had a look in the Works there but didn't get anything and then went to the shop and also picked up our meds from the pharmacy. Two items to go back for for OH tomorrow.

It was too cold for OH to go for a walk yesterday too Gwyn, but at least you had a nice lunch with your three children. It's an indoor time the rest of the day here as the sun has gone in and the wind makes it seem colder than it is. I'm transferring things from my tiny filofax to a bigger one, so doing a bit each day so it's less of a chore and need to do some dusting as well as tidying more in here. Yes the chains have little clips to attatch on each side bit of the vertical blind pieces front and back. I need to have a clear head and no interruptions as you say or I might cut the lengths too short! :-0

Mel I hope the water people will be able to check if and where a leak is if there is one soon so you aren't charged more than you should be from now on.

Hope you enjoy your short walk and meet up with your U3a group AnnG. What is the subject of this particular group?

Afternoon all,

Nice sunny morning and I hung some washing out and it's all dry ,I did a little hoovering and did all the veg for a roast chicken meal tonight and that's me done ,I feel I'm gradually getting there ,I go for my ECG at the doctors tomorrow and a tablet review on Thursday then next week I have my blood test to see if my sodium level is going up .

Anng I hope you enjoyed your walk with your friends .

Gwyn I hope you've got your this and that done :-D

Ann those chains on the blinds are so fiddly to do as the weights move so it's hard to clip them on ,the ones on the back are the hardest , when we did ours I had got to the end then realise I'd missed one somehow and had to unclipped them all luckily I hadn't cut the chain .

Vera I hope your back soon gets better going out in that wind probably didn't help and it sounds as if you were in a wind tunnel too.
Hope your friends granddaughter is feeling a bit better today ,what a worry for them all.

Very worrying about this meningitis outbreak in Canterbury, all those students were queuing for the antibiotics and I see they were distanced in the queue which was sensible, some had masks on too I noticed .

Mel I hope you've managed to sort your water bill out ,our three month bill was £137 this time so up a bit on the last one , fingers crossed you don't have another leak .

Morning all you lovely girls,

Got up quite early and went back to bed for a little lie in and it that time it brightened up and now the suns trying to shine. Its 9 degrees and pc says mostly cloudy.

Nothing planned for today so will just take it as it goes. Must wash the front door down though.

It sounds like you all had a lovely Mothers Day with lots of treats.

I am about to tackle the water board about this bill now so will report how I got on later and I need to do some dusting and hoovering. That will keep me quiet for now.

I hope it is not too chilly for your walk, AnnG. I'm sure it will be pleasant to be able to have company and chat anyway.
It was bitterly cold in the strong wind here yesterday and quite unpleasant.
My 3 children treated me for lunch out together in town and it would have been lovely to have gone for a walk together, but it was just too cold.

It's still very breezy today and about 7 at the moment, so slightly warmer than yesterday and with better temperatures later in the week, we're told.

I hope you all had a good rest and were comfortable without aches and pains overnight.

Mandy, please take it very gently and don't worry about things not getting done. They will eventually, but your recovery is more important just now. I'm sure it was lovely to get out and meet up with family and I hope you make steady progress towards feeling much better <3

Sorry to hear that you have had such a rough time Vera, especially when you are so busy. I hope you have a week ahead that is kinder to you.
I hope too that M and V's grandchild continues to improve- such a worrying time for all.

Annx, your chains certainly sound a bit fiddly and sorting them out will need time and no interuptions ;-)
Your hebe as a haven for birds sounds great, but seems to have gone beyond it's normal size.
I leave a lot of ivy on a border fence over winter for the birds, but when it gets a bit too rampant, it gets a good trim.

Mel, that seems a huge bill for one person. Can you get the water company to investigate without delay, before the next bill is high too?
It's a hassle, I know, but might save you money in the long run.

A day at home today just doing this and that. At present it looks too cold to be out in the garden in the wind, but it might improve, so we'll see how it goes.

good morning all. a bit grey here 7 degrees and dry so far. getting a lift at 10.00 going to Winchcombe, a short walk before lunch with, I think 9 of us in a U3a group.

Oh dear Vera not the best idea to subject your back to the cold wind. I hope that doesn’t stop you sleeping tonight. At least you got something done in the garden , but I am sure you are asking yourself if it was worth it.
I think the uncovered plants should be ok as it is supposed to be a lot warmer from Wednesday.

I notice the sedums have not slowed down with the fluctuations in temperature. They are growing very well both in the pots and in the ground. I think I might look for a couple more when I next get to a garden centre.

I did very little in the garden today just cut back a small amount of the winter flowering clematis.

Sounds a fiddly job Ann, the new bits for the blinds, better wait until you are in the mood.

Good afternoon/evening (when does afternoon turn into evening?)

It was beautifully sunny this morning but, boy, that wind was gusty and cold. This afternoon it's been cloudy with a few odd showers. I seem to be in a rush again - I don't know where the days are going lately. I didn't sleep much at all last night and sat downstairs from 2-3.30 am before dozing off till just after 5 am. I've felt a bit zombie like all day but have made myself get on. We've had a nice Mother's Day meal cooked by.......mother, in other words me. We had roast chicken with all the trimmings and veg followed by strawberry cheesecake. I also managed to get outside and tidy up 2 troughs of all last year's dead material now that new growth is coming through for this year. With the cold nights we are having I hope I haven't done it too early as the old, dead stuff does help protect the new growth from frosts etc. The trouble is these troughs are down the side of the house which is like a wind tunnel and the cold wind blowing round me hasn't done my back any good and has also made me stiffen up so I am now going to lay on the bed with a wheat bag and a hot water bottle to try and ease it a bit.

I have read all your interesting posts. I'll try and post tomorrow but don't worry if I don't. We have another very busy day, including organising raffle prizes and tea and biscuits for a club meeting in the evening.

Afternoon All,

Slept well but couldn't get back to sleep after 5.30am, It's quite sunny, but still cold and it was so windy OH took the car to the village shop instead of walking.

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY to all mothers! :-) I could hear outdoor chat up the close earlier, presumably family bearing gifts and flowers! Which reminds me that on Friday as we were travelling along a lane, I saw a woman picking an armful of the daffodils the council had planted on a grass verge at the edge of a road with a field behind. I suspect she was stealing them for Mothers' day as it was countryside with no houses near so someone hadn't planted them in front of their house.

That was good you had a trip out Mandy and had some some nice gifts from the family including choccies.....yum!

The man was riding an ordinary bike AnnG, but it's a downhill slope to the island and he was pedalling fast as well. OH's comment about an accident waiting to happen was similar to yours. Yes the Hebe is bigger than I expected it to grow as I thought a dwarf one would be nice in the island bed. It started to take over so a few years ago and I cut all the sides so it is like a little multi stemmed tree now. I ought to dig it out really as bits keep dieing off, but the small birds love hiding in it, especially when it rains. Yes don't do much in the garden if you have that walk tomorrow to be fit for. The time can run away with you in the garden before you know it. I was going to do a bit more outside, but it started raining by the time I'd done the veg for our lamb shank lunch.

I can't face doing the blind chains for a day or two as there are 5 blinds to do altogether and I want to measure them roughly first as I suspect the replacement chain they've sent may not be enough. Both of my OH's would leave a fiddly job like this to me.

Mel our conservatory has one of those polycarbonate roofs and the Pigeons and Magpies make a clatter as does the hail. I hope you haven't got another leak as well.

I have another problem now. As we don't use the lounge hole in the wall gas fire (it's for emergences if the radiator pump breaks or there's a long power cut), during lockdown I used a black polythene delivery bag to block off the chimney slot to stop heat in the room escaping up the chimney, as nothing I saw online would fit. I could always see the edge of the black plastic that reminded me it was there. Well that was till today when I couldn't! I felt all round and looked and couldn't see any sign of it and you can't see up the flue. There is a backplate behind the artificial coals and the air must go up the flue from behind that further back I think. I can't imagine how the rolled up bag could work it's way over the baffle and vanish though as there's hardly any space. I might have to get Riley to see if he can find it next time he services the boiler if it doesn't come to light as it could cause a fire if the gas fire was lit. It can't have come out of the top of the flue as it has a cowl over it. I wish I'd tied a cord to it now.

Food order arrived a few minutes ago in the pouring rain with our salads for tomorrow and a red cabbage out of stock. The cabbage was there though, but wasn't charged for when I checked the order. Now the driver's gone it's stopped raining. :-S I've mopped the wet off the porch and lounge floor and was glad there's no carpet as he didn't wipe his feet on the doormat and his feet left muddy prints. It's all put away now so that's good. Time for a COT.

Pleased that you had a morning out Mandy and that you were spoilt with presents.

I had cards from y two and some money to spend from daughter. Son doesn't usually but anything except a card for Mothers day, but he does send flowers all year round on different days. Like his Father he doesn't like these commercialised days.

Afternoon all,

It's 11 degrees here and we've had sunshine and quite a strong wind for most of the morning ,its now clouded over and I think we should have rain later .
We went to sons this morning and I had some nice mothers day presents, a glass vase with some artificial lilac stems in, a box of chocolates and a little ceramic heart ,it was nice to get out for a while.

Mel when a bird gets on that polycarbonate roofing it sounds like they have hobnail boots on ,they have a gazebo next door with that polycarbonate roof and we hear the birds on that when we sit out .

I,m 10 degrees now and the suns back out.