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"longer off topic comments" - Episode 17 Life Outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
This was outside our room in Portugal, in the Douro Valley. Would be nice to be there right now.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I am Ruthy ☀️😀🍷
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely place to relax! Hope to take a river cruise along the Douro next summer.
ReplyDeleteLady R, relieved to say NOT chicken pox, just urticaria due to some mystery reason. Clearing up now thank goodness!
Pleased that it's not something that would delay your operation.
DeleteHip hip hooray (🙄 ) Archerphile!
DeleteSo you are still on track for your op next Wed which must mean your Birthday is next Tuesday 🍰 😀
Spot on Lady R! My daughter is coming home from the canal trip on Tuesday to collect Rosie, so we hope to all go out for a modest celebratory lunch ( last meal for the condemned!). Rosie is expecting her GCSE results on Thursday and wanted to be at home so she can go into school and celebrate, or otherwise, with her friends, then they will be heading back to Water Jester for the rest of their holiday.
DeleteOn a less happy note I heard from my son last night, who is leaving with the family for Dubai next weekend, that it is not possible to Skype from that country. For some unknown reason the authorities there don’t allow Skype, so my hopes of keeping in touch with the grandsons, as they grow up, have been dashed.
We are hoping to be able to work out some other way of ‘seeing’ each other but until they are settled in we don’t know which system is possible. Apparently phone calls are horrendously expensive so I am just hoping we will be able to email or something.
That must be very disappointing for you Archerphile.
DeleteI do hope you are able to find a way round that problem.
And soon.
Good luck with your surgery next week.
Your birthday will be a blur I imagine.
Would FaceTime work? It's an Apple iPhone / iPad app and is free .
DeleteIt's a video call. I use it to contact my daughter who has recently given birth to our first grandchild?
DeleteCongratulations Jinner !
Delete☺️ Thank you Mrs P
DeleteThat looks lovely Ruthy. Perfect place to sit and read a book. Very relaxing.
ReplyDeleteArcherphile.... I’ve had itchy swollen spots on and off all through this hot weather. With me it’s insects or certain plants when I’m gardening.
I really should take an anti histamine tablet before any gardening. Im sure it would help......I always forget though til it’s too late.
I saw the Dr about my very itchy red spots (just in case it was chicken pox) and she advised that anti-histamine tablets don’t help very much with skin irritation, apart from bed or wasp stings. She recommended a cream called EURAX which you can buy at a pharmacy. Cost £3.50; but it really did seem to help. Much more effective than Antishan which made no difference at all. Give it a try if you are still plagued.
DeleteWorth all of us noting Archerphile.
DeleteAs an ex-pharmacist, I can no longer reccomend, but I use one called Eurax-HC wbich has a small hydrocortisone content. It works well for insect bites etc. Ask at the pharmacy counter.
DeleteThanks Archerphile I’ll get some and give it a go.
DeleteThanks Archerphile I’ll get some and give it a go.
DeleteArcherphile 12:32 Today - We speak to our son & his family in Germany via whatsapp phone calls & video calls are free! You can message & send photo's & videos too. You need to sign up to whatsapp but again it's free. We have spoken to Germany from Greek Islands & Canary Islands, not sure if Dubai covered but worth a try.
ReplyDeleteI was also going to mention the Wattsap video calls. Mine are to Australia, and use rather than skype, but as Pheonix has said, will this be possible from Dubai?
DeleteCan you use WhatsApp without having a smart phone ? Does it work on an iPad as I don’t have a mobile?
DeleteI am so not sure! I use a smart 'phone.If this is viable from Dubai, then it will be very cost-effective. I pay now, as I have just sorted a new deal, £13 a month. This is a good price, and I use Wattsapp, linked to my Wi-Fi, I can receive and send, 'photos, videos, messages, have a chat and video calls - which are all "free". I am sure that your son, will sort things out.
DeleteI maintain contact with my son when he is in the Philippines with WhatsApp, but at present the free services aren't allowed to be used in/from Dubai. There is something that can be used though, via WiFi . Your son will be able to sort it once he has had time to find out about it.
DeleteI don't have a smart phone, but use whattsapp on my tablet.
Gosh Ruthy, that's a posh front, or patio, whichever it is.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I wrote that before reading the earlier comments.
DeleteSorry !
Archerphile. I am glad things are still going forward towards Wednesday, though I expect that you are getting "concerned". What a shame that this coincides with your families move to Dubai, and Rosies GCSE results, but these challenges are there, for a reason - and you will rise to them.
ReplyDeleteBe sure to read the post from Phoenix @ 2.21pm.
Good luck Archerphile over the coming week and weeks of your recovery. You have certainly got plenty to contend with at the moment. It doesn’t rain but it pours (except on Miriam’s garden unfortunately - hope you have better luck with that soon Miriam. I am certainly enjoying the fresher weather.)
ReplyDeleteI am obviously living in a "micro" climate, as yet another very sunny, warm day and evening, with blue skies! I have worn a short-sleeved T-shirt, and "summer" trousers all day! I have a strong westerly wind though.
DeleteThe weather, not me 😀😆
Delete😀😀🌬
DeleteThis is adressed to any-one who has a family member, who will have received their A-level results today.
ReplyDeleteI hope that every thing is going forward as expected.
Archerfile, August 16, 6:16pm.
ReplyDeleteWhatsApp only works on smartphones.
It can work on a tablet though.
DeleteI am in a very "happy" mode tonight. My eldest niece, (now 41) her partner and children, moved to Nantwich, Cheshire last Friday, which I think I must have mentioned, at least once! She has just 'phoned me, and I am off tomorrow to see the new home, and have a "family" day with them. For various reasons, this means a lot to me.
ReplyDelete🤗😀🤗😀 so pleased for you Miriam - enjoy!
DeleteEnjoy your day tomorrow Miriam.
DeleteHave a lovely day. Having family living closer will be nice for you.
DeleteHow about Face Time,Archerphile?
ReplyDeleteIsn't that a bit like Skype?
Catching up here; all the best for your op next Wed., Archerphile. Such a lot happening in your life, it may feel almost like a rest cure....( did say, 'almost').I hope everything is in place at home, chair heights & all the rest. Can't you have a 2nd B-day celebration, timed to when you're walking confidently again, pain free ?!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Carolyn, hadn’t thought if that. I shall pencil in a visit to my favourite NT property with a cream tea thrown in. Then out for a steak dinner in our local gastro-pub in the evening .....something to look forward to!
DeleteCannot remember who recommended this weeks "Book at bedtime" Mrs Palfrey at The Claremont, not a work I knew of but I am throughly enjoying it thank you 👍 very much, Eleanor Bron reads so beautifully.
ReplyDeleteLady R, tonight's episode just finished.
DeleteMe too !
Lady R - ‘‘twas I who recommended Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont - one of my favourite novels first read in 1971 while prsgnant and waiting for my daughter’s arrival!
DeleteGlad you are enjoying it.
And thank you to all who have given advice on keeping in contact with the Dubai contingent of my family. Looks as if I will have to go back on all my protestations about not needing a mobile and invest in a smart phone!
And once again, a huge thank you to all my lovely friends on here for your good wishes regarding next week’s little adventure. I hope very much to be able to write a short post on Wed. evening after the operation -just to say ‘hello, I’m still in the land of the living and doing fine”
Good wishes Archerphile. I have all my fingers and toes crossed for you!🙂
DeleteNo need to invest in a smartphone if you don't want to Archerfile, Skype and Facetime work on iPads. I don't know much about Facetime as I don't use Apple products but I know you can do texts, voice calls and video calls with Skype.
DeleteThanks CC, we wanted to use Skype, as we do very successfully to France now, but apparently it cannot be used in Dubai (the authorities block it!) so am looking for a different means of communication. Could use FaceTime but the rest of the family do not have Apple devices. Perhaps I shall just have to move to Dubai with them 😎
DeleteArcherphile I was about to tell you that you could use FaceTime an acquaintance I met today was talking about keeping in touch with Dubai relations how weird is that! However as your relatives do not have apple devices then it's a no go.
DeleteThe lady I mention was like me at Basingstoke Hospital for a Gastroscopy and we got chatting about technology!
My car park came to £5.50 I arrived at 10.30am ahead of appointment as one does so I was there for 4 hrs. All staff in the DTC unit wonderful so very pleasant and supportive. It appears I have a Hiatus Hernia and a Gastric Polyp which was removed there and then.
(Yesterday a funeral and today hospital looking forward now to a quiet weekend. 🤗)
I had to wait for Book at Bedtime last night as it was not available straight away 😡 Thank you Archerphile for letting us know of it via this blog 😀
Will be thinking of you Archerphile
ReplyDeleteSame for me Archerphile.
DeleteArcherphile - another Leo!
ReplyDeletebon courage for next week.
🦁 Only just Parsley - born on the last day of Leo according to some astrologists - on the cusp I think it’s is called.
DeleteThank you all again for good wishes - if all these kind wishes work, I shall be prancing around again in no time!! 🚶♀️💃 🏃🏼♀️
Us Leo’s are the best.
DeleteI’ve started going away on my own overnight for my birthday to do what I want to do for s change.
So this weekend I’m going to London to see 2 plays and an exhibition at the v and a.
2 leos in our house, along with Mr P - gets a bit lively sometimes!
Deletealso shared the same birthdate with my Grandad, the one who never touched port..
Another Leo here! Went to an open air production by a lake of a Sherlock Holmes mystery. As it got dusk a flock of Canada geese flew down to settle by the lake for the night. They were honking as they flew over us, and the actor speaking paused and with a grin ad libbed "hark what is that strange sound I hear"!
DeleteRuthy - love your photo!
ReplyDeletewe have a Portuguese friend who grew up in northern Portugal - we had a memorable holiday 2 years ago with some friends up in the hills.
All the best with the op and rehab Archerphile
ReplyDeleteI have just returned home from a day with my niece and family. The new property is gorgeous and in a lovely place. What I love, is that, after just a week, it is already a real loving home, and the family are just so happy there, which is so important.
ReplyDeletePS I am "downloading" Mrs Palfrey, thanks to Archerphile's recommendation, as I prefer to listen in "one go". This is also true about The Archers, so I always listen to the Sunday Omnibus, when I pick up a lot of extra bits which previously missed.
Miriam glad to hear that your day was as special as you anticipated it would be. 🏡🤗
DeleteIt was. Thanks! And there are now, many such days to follow. I am more like a Big Sister, to this niece rather than the "aunty" I actually am. We have today reverted to the very close relationship we always had.I will tell all sometime about our loss of this special relationship, which was due to a third family person, her Mum (my elder sister)!
DeleteThat sounds very special, Miriam. I know of other family situations where an event, or, more often, a person has brought about a rift in a family but in time this has healed & it' s lovely that you & your niece can resume, as it were, the close relationship you had in the past. y
ReplyDeleteindeed. xx
DeleteI haven't checked the BBC blogs we used to infiltrate but by chance I have come across one for Strictly Come Dancing.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know it isn't even on at the moment but they are in the process I assume of choosing the "celebs"
Indeed they are LanJan, in many cases they might as well be members of the public to me as so far apart from a well known female newsreader (BBC of course) I do not know who most of these celebs are! The blog will no doubt turn nasty as it often did last year. Originally, in 2014 I signed into the BBC in order to be able to vote and comment but as nasty as it got the Beeb did not intervene and still run same year after year... 🙄
ReplyDeleteI am a huge Strictly fan but I don’t know if I will bother to watch this year as I only recognise 2 contestants (Kate Silverton the newsreader and Graham Swan the cricketer) All the rest are totally unknown to me.
ReplyDeletePerhaps after so many series they are running out of ‘celebrities’ !
Anyway, it’s not nearly so good since Len Goodman left and there will be no Brendan Cole this year so I am loosing interest all round!
4.33pm 17/8. Lady R, just spotted your post. What a day you had - a diagnosis, a procedure + a long, long wait(even if enlivened by a chat ) I hope you had a relaxed evening & a good night's sleep, & that the h.hernia can be treated/alleviated in some way. All the best.
ReplyDeleteYes Lady R I also hope you have the quiet weekend you need and treatment soon. All the best to you.
DeleteThank you all for your very kind thoughts as Archerphile and others have found out they are much appreciated and this is such a lovely warm and caring blog. I felt tired and earlier to bed than the late owl I normally am, but feel ok today I am glad to report.
DeletePills for the H.Hernia and now the found Gastric Polyp removed all should be ok abd because of its type should be an ok one but as usual sent off for testing 4-6 wks.
I enjoyed last nights Archers 🤗
Some of our blogger friends I know are having more than just a twinge.
ReplyDeleteBut though they might be M O Bs ,they're not the sort to have a whinge.
The medics like my lovely son will have them on their feet again
It won't be long before they will be dancing down a country lane!
Anon!
√√√ !
Delete👏 Another winner LanJan - son a Dr I take it?
DeleteYes,Lady R he is a doctor.
DeleteI am very proud of him because according to the local newspaper in the part of British Columbia where he lives he is trying to sort out the terrible drug problem in that area more or less singlehandedly.
He managed to snatch a week's holiday over here earlier this month but didn't have time to go to see Freddie.
Thank you for your reply LanJan, how interesting and what a wonderful job your son is doing.
DeleteFreddie could certainly have done with his advice - would he have taken it though 🙄
Maybe 'like mother, like son', lady R, as we know Lanjan doesn't take 'no' for answer, thinking particularly of her fight to reinstate the BBC TA blog, so I reckon Dr LJ could probably shake sense into that numbskull Freddie in no longer than a 13 min. Episode, AND extract rather more of the truth from him than the police did...
DeleteThree huge cheers for your doctor son Lanjan and my respect and gratitude for everything he and his colleagues do for humanity.
DeleteLady R - have only just seen your post about your trip to B&NHH - so sorry not to have commented before but I am glad you are now home and resting. Strangely, I also had a gastroscopy done at that hospital for a suspected Hiatus Hernia but it turned out to be a false alarm and did not need specific treatment. I was really terrified about having the procedure but the staff were so lovely and the sedation worked superbly, so I remember nothing at all about it. My mum had an hiatus hernia but it was pretty well controlled by medication and not lying down flat to sleep at night.
ReplyDeleteI do hope you recover well. I am sure we are going to meet at the hospital one of these days - I’ll be wearing something purple so you can recognise me!
So "Lady in Purple" Archerphile - not red as in the song ��
ReplyDeleteI hope not too many ladies will be dressed in the same colour or I may be thrown out by security for harassment ��
As I was driving myself over and back to the hospital I had to go with the spray only but got through it more was added once the gastric polyp was found as it was then removed but all done in the one visit. Feeling ok now thank you.
Be thinking of you next week at least you are getting your replacement hip op over with mine will happen one day when I am affected on a daily basis more than I currently am.
Forgot to correct the ? after signing in and before hitting publish.. The first was a music symbol and the second a face crying with laughter.
ReplyDelete🙋♀️
ReplyDelete(Lady in purple, my favourite colour!)
Always Archerphile? or still being a youngster 😉 are you ahead of the famous poem "When I grow old I shall wear purple"
DeleteI too wear lots of purple as well as Schiaparelli Pink, and the author of ' when I grow old' lived here in Stroud.
DeleteWhen I was a little girl my favourite colour was purple and I thought it went beautifully with red until my mother told me that it didn't.
DeleteI still think she was wrong.
In the poem you mention, Lady R,Jenny Joseph says that when she is an old woman she will wear purple with a red hat and I thought .
"Good for you" but then few lines further on she says she will learn to spit and I went off her a bit then.
There is a similar poem written by Jim Burns called "Note for the future"but it doesn't have quite the same positive ring about it.
I agree with you LanJan. Red and purple do go together.
DeleteBoth Mrs Palfrey and "A year in the New Forest" have now finished 😟
ReplyDeleteHowever last week a 3rd series of "The Repair Shop" started on BBC2 - superb programme and such a selection of truly talented craftsmen / women. I love it and the stories behind the objects.
In particular during last week two different types of chair were reupholstered and the skill involved applying traditional methods to do so extremely impressive👏
Thank you for your post Lady R. That is the second time in two days that I have been told about the repair programme.
DeleteMet up with Stasia again yesterday and was told about the repair and re upholstery of chairs on the programme.
I shall have to watch it.
I have rebuilt about five different chairs in my time, and upholstered quite a few too.
I want to get a copy of MrsPalfrey and read it for myself.
I thought E Bron read it so sympathetically.
Wonderful voice.
Archerphile,I was thinking about your family going to live in Dubai.
ReplyDeleteTwo points.
1) When googling to find out where Anita Manning of Bargain Hunt buys her hats (I know I am sad because I wouldn't want to wear a hat like her's anyway) I came across a website called Gransnet.
It appears to be a sort of problem page where ladies of a certain age offer advice to others.
One of the problems was about someone who wanted to Skype but her family who lived abroad didn't want to.
I read one or two of the replies and I don't think anyone recommended it.
My son in Canada suggested I got an IPad so that we could do "Face Time"
I did.
We used Face time once!
I couldn't be doing with it.
2) If you decide to visit Dubai ,make sure you go during our winter.
The first time I went was in February and was hot but quite pleasant
The second time was in October and that wasn't too bad
I have never been in June July or August but I am told that it is very very hot.
I tried Skype once with my grandchildren.
DeleteThey didn't like it and we never repeated the experience.
I believe my daughters now use face time with their dad in Australia.
We find Skype or WhatsApp useful to communicate with the family as we can do texts, voice calls or video calls whatever suits at the time.
DeleteArcherphile. I m sending you my best wishes for Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteTo all those suffering a twinge or two I am sending positive thoughts, and get well soon brightly coloured imaginary cards.
Lady R. What a long day you had, treat yourself to something nice, I always do after an ordeal.
I have to report, that my garden has had a lot of rain, over the last few nights. This is just as I like it, rain overnight but lovely warm, dry days. The lawns are already looking a lot "greener". I might just have to mow them, this week, even though, about half of the front lawn is still very "brown" and parched in places.
ReplyDeleteI am a very "sad" person tonight, as I am watching the film - "Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back". I find it very strange and to have to admit, that I originally saw it in the cinema, in about 1980!
Deletewe watched it too! mmm, young Harrison Ford....
DeleteI will not be listening or downloading, this weeks Book at Bed-time. I don't think that "Jaws" is a suitable choice, for a late night relaxing listen. I read the book, before the film was released and I enjoyed it as I found it a very different type of story.
ReplyDeleteNor me, Miriam. I loved Mrs Palfrey last week (although I did already know the story) but Jaws is definitely not my idea of bedtime reading, especially *this* week ! I do think some of the B at B book choices have been rather odd in recent years. Some very challenging listens and a lot of bad language and sexual scenes which I find embarrassing to listen to. Give me a classic Dickens, Brontë or Eliot any day - or a good mystery or detective story.
DeleteLan Jan thank you for the information about Gransnet and Skype etc.
ReplyDeleteWe used Skype very successfully with the family in France. The boys loved showing us their latest Lego models and paintings and would take us on little ‘tours’ around their bedrooms and the garden by carrying their tablet around and pointing it at things ( actually it made me feel a bit seasick being on the move, but I didn’t say so!)
We are hoping to make our first visit to Dubai in February next year - hip permitting. We have been invited for Xmas but the flights are very expensive then, a bit cheaper in Feb. and still cooler than summer - also one of the boys has his 10th birthday then so it would be a good time to visit.
PtbY,
ReplyDeletehow was your w/e?
Not sure where GG is now, but it should be cooler weather this week, with rain early part of the week, then sunny. I was able to enjoy last evening listening to the crickets and frogs from our beautiful nature preserve with windows and back door opened. We do hear highway noises, a local train station, and the occasional low flying airplane, but right now, its is sounding so relaxing.
ReplyDeleteQuick update, we are still seeing our pair of Ruby Throated Hummingbirds coming to our feeder but they will be leaving us soon for warmer weather down south. Maybe GG had a chance to see one of those in the States? I saw them when I was in San Francisco at the top of Lombard Street.
Hi parsley16, in a word, hectic.
ReplyDeleteJust sat on train now ready to head back to good old Yorkshire.
Saw “witness for the prosecution” and “ the bank robbery that goes wrong”. Both very good and very different. Done Freida kahlo exhibition this morning. Poor woman....what a life she had re her health.
Fraid this pace of life down here is too much for me.
24hrs and I’m jiggered!!
wow!
Deletewish we could get over to see the exhibition, what a fascinating woman.
Sorry if this topic is getting boring but thought I’d update those interested in the latest development in my Dubai v Skype saga.
ReplyDeleteMy son has just phoned (48 hrs before leaving for Dubai ) to confirm Skype is not available there so, for my birthday, he has ordered me a smart phone which I can use for What’s App - as recommended by so many of you. He and the family already use it to keep in touch with their French relatives and friends so I can be added to their group.
I have been holding out against having a mobile for many years but as he says, it will be the easiest way to keep in touch, so I can hardly say no, can I?
Probably turn out to be the best b’day gift I have ever had.
Subject now closed but thanks to everyone for your helpful input.
That's good news, Archerphile, I'm sure you won't regret it. Will be thinking of you come Wednesday & looking forward to hearing from you a little later in the week.
DeleteGood news Archerphile - your mind can now be at rest knowing you will be able to keep in touch so easily. 👏
ReplyDeleteHave a "Happy Birthday" 🎼🍰 💐tomorrow with family (a distraction from Wednesday for awhile too 😉 )
Thank you so much Lady R, I really appreciate your good wishes , and Carolyn too 😀
DeleteRuthy, we are still in the forests of Massachusetts and the weather has indeed cooled down considerably! Been doing a bit of hiking and a lot of eating... Didn't see any hummingbirds on Lombard Street, but saw loads in San Simeon & Santa Barbara - hadn't appreciated how small they are in real life!! We are going to Salem tomorrow and then back to the UK on Wednesday. Was going to spend a week or so in London & Suffolk but have decided to just go straight on home to Glasgow - I miss our cat, our bed and our house!!! Bestest trip ever....
ReplyDeleteSounds a wonderful life-time experience. It has been lovely to follow your travels. Yes, your cat, is such an important part of your life.
DeleteSafe trip home Gary, hope your cat will be as delighted to see you as we will be to have you back in UK and commenting on TA.
DeleteArcherphile
ReplyDeleteYou will love your smartphone.
My step granddaughters suggested I should invest in an IPhone.
I wanted it in order to be able to tell when a bus was due but then I discovered Uber taxis and I haven't looked back.
I have a wonderful book called IPhones for seniors and so I don't even need to ask for help.
I asked my son if he could manage an iPhone as I already use an iPod and iPad and so am used to the system - really don’t want to have to learn Android as well. That book sounds great , I’ll look out for it. Thanks for the advice. 😀
DeleteArcherphile, you will love your smart phone, and after a few weeks, I bet you will think - why didn't I get one before. I needed help, to learn how to download apps, etc. but soon mastered it, as you will. It will be so useful, and keep you occupied, whilst you are recouperating.
ReplyDeleteTake Care.
Many thanks Miriam, I am sure you are right! I shall have great fun learning how to use it!
DeleteGood luck for your operation on Wednesday Archerfile and with the smartphone.
ReplyDeleteMany Thanks CC, your good wishes are much appreciated - as are everyone’s. It is truly wonderful having so many caring ‘virtual’ friends
DeleteI have just had some lovely 'photos, via Wattsapp, of my niece, her partner, and my 7-month gt. nephew, Monty, in Melbourne airport, on their way to the UK.
ReplyDeleteThere is a big family "chat" going on, so, need to join in!
Sounds super, Miriam, You are making me even more enthusiastic to try this Watsap thingy!
Deletelooking forward to visiting my sister & brother-in-law in Melbourne this October.
ReplyDeleteOh, I am so jealous Parsley - have always wanted to visit Melbourne. And I would just have to take the Ramsey Street Tour, being a great Neighbours fan! Yes, I know I am 7..., but I still enjoy the programme, 😉
DeleteYou have such a rich breadth of knowledge for one so young Archerphile...😄
DeleteOh Gary, you silver-tongued flatterer! 😉
DeleteHappy birthday,Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteYour birthday bouquet is in a vase on my kitchen window sill.
It consists of mauve lavender,,purple and red fuchsias and some cerise salvias.
Enjoy your day.🌺🌺🌺
There seems to be a colour theme this morning : purple, red, mauve lavender, cerise & silver !
ReplyDeleteSo, a Happy, colourful Birthday to you, Archerphile !
DeleteMy favourite colours, I can just picture that bouquet now, many heartfelt thanks to all my Archer loving friends! 😘
DeleteHappy Birthday from me too Archerphile! 🎈🎂🍷
Delete⭐️ Of the day Archerphile sending more Birthday wishes on the day itself - you can never have too many 😉
ReplyDeleteHappy b'day Archerphile, good luck with the op and whatsapp.
DeleteArcherphile mentioned her liking of red and purple-in my opinion "winter colours
ReplyDeleteHer birthday is in the summer
Lady R has said that her favourite Season is Autumn
I am not sure what are her favourite colours.
Her birthday is in the Autumn
My birthday is in the Autumn.
My favourite Season is Spring.
My favourite colours for wearing are Autumn colours.
I am not sure what I am trying to say here ..........
Is there any correlation between birth dates ,favourite Seasons and favourite colours
Is one's favourite colour the one in which they know they look good in?
In the book "Colour me beautiful " by Carole Jackson it says that while everyone is born with an inclination towards certain colours there are some colours we should avoid because they do not suit our colouring..
The colour periwinkle blue is apparently alright for everyone to wear.
I think you are either a cool colours person or a warm colours person. Having quite high colouring and blonde (well, OK, blondish-grey) hair I know I look best in blues (mauvish not greenish) purples, blueish reds, whites and blacks. My daughter has a more sallow skin colour with brown hair and looks best in oranges, yellows, greens and browns, all colours that look dreadful on me. Cream or beige makes me look completely washed out and I need pink lipsticks with a blue hue rather than bright orangey reds.
DeleteI think it is skin tone that determines which colour suits you best rather than when you were born.
Well remembered LanJan - yes I am an Autumn "baby" and I adore it.
Delete"The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" and albeit that we get a good one the glorious colour of the leaves 🍂🍁🎃 and the smell of the ground and the slower pace of life, and friends and country pubs with log fires🔥 and mugs of hot chocolate.......😀
Colours? Of late more blue and pink creeping in but I also favour black and light grey broken with a long scarf of a bright colour or pattern. A favourite shirt top is a checked one in Autumn colours.
Spring runs a close second - my mother was April born and she loved the Spring especially the daffodils.
Her favourite colour was most definitely red though. At her funeral everyone wore some small thing in red even the vicar wore his red stole for her (he knew her well) and he is a great man, and all of us (3 daughters and our husbands) wore a red rose.
Lan Jan every astronomical sign has a lucky colour and (I think) a lucky number, attached to it, as well as a stone.
ReplyDeleteThen there is the coulour, or range of colours that suit your skin colour.
There is also, of course the colour that makes everyone say ' oh you look so good in that colour' ! That one is usually the one that picks up the colour of your eyes.
Then there are seasonal colours.
I wear lots of green and khaki and turquoise because I have green and tawny flecks in my eyes.
I also wear a lot of pink and purple too.
Because I am an Aries I wear touches of red, which Aries are always drawn towards, but a lot less now than when younger.
If I wear blue it will be Royal or navy.
My mother never dressed me in blue cos she said I looked awful in it. I think it gives me a washed out look.
I like white and cream and neutral colours but don't wear them often as again I think they make me looked washed out. The same with yellow which I love, but it doesn't love me, so if I wear it I have to have black or amber near my face to knock it back.
My mother in law taught me that I can and should wear ' jewel' colours, and I do.
Happy Birthday Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteAnd I will be thinking of you early tomorrow morning.
We will all be pleased to hear from you when you can let us know how you are.
My message to all in one text, forwarded to everybody was....... 'with two slices of toast and a cup of tea, I am back in the land of the living'
I will write a post about cows, and speeding as promised later today.
ReplyDeleteReally must do some tasks, since I had another Vitamin B12 injection yesterday and so I should be ' boosted ' !
Me too, MrsP (re the B12 injection)! No plans to write about cows, though.
DeleteJoyeux Anniversaire Archerphile! what's 7... only a number!!
ReplyDeletewe won't have much time with my sister in Melbourne, 4 nights, having journeyed across from Perth on the Indian Pacific - trip of a lifetime!
Merci beaucoup Parsley, vos bons voeux sont les bienvenues. Le numéro est soixant-treize au fait! Mais ne le dites à personne! 🤫
Deletene vous inquiétez pas! M P vient de fêter ses 70 bougies..!
DeletePenn bloedh lowen - "happy birthday" in Cornish to you! Tredhek ha tri-ugens maybe but I'm sure still only about 32 inside! 😊
DeleteArcherphile.
ReplyDelete"Happy Birthday To You.."🎶 🎂
Thank you Miriam, very timely as Mr A has just come in with a cup of tea and slice of cake - usually totally banned except on birthdays!
DeleteA young 73, especially in 6 weeks time, when you will be skipping around again.
DeleteArchephile: I am late but want to add a very Happy Birthday to you!
ReplyDeleteNot late at all Ruthy, still only very early evening here! Many thanks for you good wishes 🙋🏼
ReplyDeleteAll the best for tomorrow, Archerphile. As I believe it is said in a galaxy far, far away - 'May the force be with you!'
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Archerfile. I hope you've had a lovely day. All the best for tomorrow.
DeleteWell, “tomorrow” is now here, am ready to go, had my disgusting pre-op drink and feel really buoyed up with all your lovely good wishes. Thanks you everyone.
DeleteBack soon.......
May even all be done and dusted as I write Archerphile, been thinking of you. Take your time on saying hello....
DeleteFor LanJan: I've just visited Culcheth, staying there before attending the funeral, in Flixton/Davyhulme, of a lovely uncle. Also fitted in a visit to Irlam station (yes, really), which now incorporates a café and an exhibition. One of my primary school friends lived there when her father was the stationmaster. It's kind of faux historic and visitor-centre-ish, but looks much more cared-for than when there was grass growing through the platform. Back from Flixton via Warburton Bridge (free of toll because the booth burnt down, apparently).
ReplyDeleteThanks for your indulgence, readers. LanJan and I share some history.
I am sorry for your sad reason for visiting Culcheth ,Bootgums but I was interested
Deleteto read that you had done so.
Like your sister I believe ,my sister lives there and has done so since she was a baby so changes have been gradual for her.
She lives in one of the still unspoilt parts of the village in an older property .
I don't like it any more.
It isn't a village now.
It isn't anything like was when there were so few children going to the primary school that pupils of two age groups were taught together in the same classroom and the junior and senior schools were housed in one building.
Sad to hear that the toll booth burnt down on Warburton Bridge.
Marvellous bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal.
We used to cycle there down Holcroft Lane ,over the bridge to Lymn.
Good to hear about the station at Irlam
We passed through there and Flixton and Glazebrook of course when we went on the steam train from Culcheth (always beautifully kept) to Mannchester
Thanks Bootgums.
No need to request indulgence these days bootgums, just one of the main joys of this friendly, understanding and when needs be compassionate site.
ReplyDeleteGold star to Ruthy ⭐️
Lovely to read the above two posts and imagine those places as described seventy odd years since.
ReplyDeleteThank you both for sharing your memories.
I said I would post more about the cows on the common.
The two commons Minchinhampton and Rodborough merge into each other in the area around The Bear, a hotel with a schloss. which gives a distinctive air to the building.
All of this area is now NT owned, with houses and villages interspersed. Some interesting names like St Chloe and Pinfarthings, Amberly and Box.
The cows come out on Marking day, around May 13 each year and return to their home pastures in September.
They roam in straddling groups across the commons, sometimes mixing with each other but on the whole keeping together within their herds.
As well used roads pass across and through the commons, cows are frequently in the roads or very close to the verges.
It shocks me that most of the accidents leading to the death of a cow, involve local drivers.
Before I came to live in this area I was aware from the national press that somewhere
in the U.K. an area was developing a form of traffic control whereby a camera recorded the speed of a vehicle, but rather than a prosecution a driver had a visit and a warning.
I had been here for some months when a flyer through the letter box alerted me to the local road safety group, asking for opinions on the state of the traffic conditions locally.
I attended a meeting and discovered that I was here in the very parish where this ANPR system was being developed and was indeed very close to one of the cameras.
The ANPR camera records the time, speed, and number plate of a vehicle. If it is found in analysing the readings that a particular vehicle is regularly exceeding the speed limit
a visit from the police and a verbal warning is given to the driver.
At our last Road Safety meeting it was revealed that several other local parishes were in the process of adopting this successful initiative, and a number of other places in the U.K. were expecting to adopt this system also.
So watch your local area, because these cameras that record, then warn drivers about their behaviour, but do not automatically punish them without persistent speeding, may be coming your way.
It is working, and last year the number of cows killed on the commons was the lowest for many years.
Mrs P, the village of which Bootgums and I wrote about ,has two (at least) claims to fame.
DeleteTwo international footballers lived (maybe one still does ,-the other sadly died this year) in the village .
One of them was in the 1966 World Cup winning side.
My mother always said her claim to fame was that she knew his mother well enough to call her Nellie!
Also the person who tried to steal the Crown Jewels,Colonel Blood married a local girl Maria Holcroft (she lived in Culcheth Hall ( which was still standing when I was a girl) at our local Parish Church.
LanJan, I had no idea of either of those facts. I'll pass them on to big sis, who hated history at school (not in Culcheth), but in recent years has realised that local history, at least, can be gripping in a way that lists of monarchs never were. The 'village' is pleasant, it seemed to me, even if it's not as it was in your youth. But I grew up in Irlam then Cadishead, such an industrial area I'm not sure how we managed to reach adulthood (what with the passive smoking at home and all).
DeleteWhilst I was out driving home from a friend, I passed an ANPR police vehicle, parked on the side of a road. About half a mile further along this road, there was a massive hold-up, due to a car "smash", but no police, as yet. "on-scene". Why hadn't this police vehicle attended this incident?
ReplyDeleteANPR police vehicles and camera's are very "normal" in my neighbourhood. These do not worry me in the slightest, and if they catch those driving around without car tax and insurance, then the necessary penalties should be levied.
I've just listened to 'Jill' on Great Lives (on catch up, broadcast yesterday) discussing Bess of Hardwick. Interesting to hear about Bess, and to hear 'Jill's' normal speaking voice. She sounded much more fluent and natural than for her scripted voice of Jill.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone - from Ward D1 at Basingstoke Hospital.
ReplyDeleteWas first on list this morning so all a bit of a rush getting ready. Had full anaesthetic which was recommended for me. In quite a lot of pain but liquid morphine keeping me nice and woozy. Had nothing to eat yet but a sandwich is on its way. Will be got up, somehow, tomorrow am. Meanwhile little boots keep puffing away, squeezing my feet to stop blood clots.
Hope TA was good tonight, will catch up tomorrow,
Sleep tight everyone - not sure I will! 🤒
Great to 'hear' you Archerfile. I wasn't expecting to so soon after your op.
DeleteAll the best.
I wish you well. At last it is know over.
DeleteThe long recovery now starts and just try to do all that is expected from you - easier said than done.
Good Luck for your Rosie tomorrow. I am sure you will sleep.😴
All the best, Archerphile. TA will wait for you, don't you worry!
DeleteWow, so soon, Archerphile, .after the anaesthetic - impressive ! 😀 Really good to hear from you ( just looked here, in case....&, yes, you had written).
ReplyDeleteHope the morphine keeps you going until the pain is less intense, that the sandwich was edible, & that you are dozing away as we write in happy Dreamland...
Hello Archerphile 😀 Like Carolyn thought I would just check the blog but really did not expect you to write today, so very pleased to hear from you though. It will be tough for the first few weeks Im sure - and one day it will be me by which time you will have forgotten you have even had the op...
ReplyDelete(I Have not heard tonight's episode yet.)
Glad to hear that the operation is over and that you were able to post this evening (it brought back memories apart from the morphine which just made me nauseous). You are now on the road to recovery which I hope wil be a smooth one.
ReplyDeleteSorry meant to add Archerfile to the first sentence.
DeleteWell done for being awake enough to post Archerphile.
DeleteSo good to hear from you and pleased that you are now over the worst.
Look forward to hearing how you get on with the physio tomorrow.
🌻🌼⚘🍇🍒
DeleteArcherphile - wishing you a speedy recovery. I too am amazed that you posted! We are all here for you!!!
ReplyDeleteUpdate from the hospital - didn’t sleep at all last night. It’s almost impossible with little boots squeezing your feet every 10 seconds and going Puff Puff very loudly!
ReplyDeleteWaiting for breaksfast now. Last nights supper was surprisingly good and there was plenty of it. Thought hospital food was supposed to be bad, but not here thank goodness.
One last thought - I HATE bedpans! 😣
Mr R is well acquainted with the "puff puff" wrap around socks Archerphile having worn them many times and totally agrees they do take some getting used to, but thought them better overall than wearing the tight "stockings" alternative that used to be used to keep blood clots at bay. Neither pleasant when you long to sleep 💤
DeleteSo glad the food is good that makes a big difference! Take care we are all thinking of you very much ❤️ - wonder if there are any other (secret) bloggers in there under cover 😉
For hip-replacement patients, bed-pans are the ultimate cruelty. I remember the struggle first time round, even with the aid of the monkey-pole - or was it because of having to heave on the monkey-pole. The second time round the surgeon had re-thought his concept and had resorted to the use of catheters; ultimately in my case that brought problems of its own, but at least I was spared the bed pan!
ReplyDeleteFURTHER UPDATE FROM THE HOSPITAL
ReplyDeleteBelieve me folk.This has to be a joke
That somewhere in the town of Basingstoke
The patients in the hospital awake
And then they have to do a double take.
There's someone tripping lightly down the ward
Because she said that she was feeling bored.
It's obvious .To me it's really plain
That Archerphile thinks she's Margot Fonteyn!
Brilliant LJ, Archerphile will love it and as today will no doubt be a difficult one for her you will have boosted her confidence in your very own and talented and fun way. 🤗
DeleteI do admire your fripperies LJ.
DeleteFantastic LanJan, and very proud to be the subject of one of your brilliant poems!
DeleteCheered me up no end
Latest news, they made me get dressed in bed this morning (v. Difficult trying to put on a bra in bed when one hand has a line inserted. Then I had my first walk with a Zimmer frame down the corridor but felt very faint & nauseous so had to go back to bed but will try again this afternoon.
Meanwhile - just heard Rosie got 5 ‘9s’, 4 ‘8s’ and a 7 in her GCSE results. She is over the moon and so am I. That is the equivalent of 5 A*+, 4 A* and an A under the new system. Am a very proud, if wobbly, Granda 😍
Archerphile - wow for you and more wows for Rosie! Hope you will feel less faint when they get you out of bed again later.
DeleteArcherphile great news for ⭐️ Rosie and for all the family. Don't forget you had a full anaesthetic which may have contributed to your reaction this morning. Mr R says it Is likely to be better for you this afternoon - here's hoping and of course it must be a bit frightening the first time putting your faith in standing and walking on your new hip..
ReplyDeleteDo you feel like "Queen Archerphile" we are all so pleased to be keeping up with your truthful reports who needs TA 😂 whenreal life can be found here!
I really must reign back now Lady R - it’s all getting a bit me,me,me with all my rather self-centred posts about my hip and family. Shall confine myself to Archers and other people’s topics for a while and give you all a rest from the tales of Hopalong!
DeleteWell for me knowing the hospital and eventually being in your shoes I am very interested I realise you have a lot to do now going forward many excercises and will definitely feel tired - as a friend of mine said "Its not always a walk in the park" especially at first. How did this afternoon go? You can't deny us knowing that after this morning update 😀
DeleteAre you using your iPad or Birthday Phone?
Archerphile. Don't be silly!
ReplyDeleteI love your up-dates. It is nice to hear how you are getting on, and you must be very proud of Rosie. I wonder if we will learn how Ben did, in tonights TA.
I have had a lovely day, meeting my latest great- nephew, Monty, for the first time, and catching up with niece No 2 + partner (Melbourne), niece No 3 (London) at Big Sis's home. It is going to be a very busy "week-end" with Family days on Sat, Sun and Monday, a minimum of 14 at each event,as there are more participants arrive tomorrow night. I am helping with the catering so I will be busy shopping and cooking tomorrow!
Enjoy Miriam 🍷🎉 - shall look forward to your update next week
DeleteSame here, Miriam, you enjoy a lovely family BH 😊 .we know why you're involved in the cooking - lucky people...
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAs I have to do a 40 minute drive, min each way, to and from every "event" each day - my main concern is transporting everything to arrive, still edible!
DeleteOut all afternoon. Loved your verse to Margot Archerphile, Lanjan ! 😁 It came just after said Fonteyn had told us she HATED bedpans, so, Mrs A.Hopalong, I hope you mutter the jolly rhyme to yourself when next presented with the beastly thing - it's bound to bring a smile to replace the grimace & wincing !
ReplyDeletePlease do give us updates; you can see we're thoroughly involved & routing for you.
Many congratulations to your Rosie, doing so well in the toughest year in decades .
✔✔✔
DeleteJust back from cruise in Scandinavia and catching up with TA and all your news. Very best wishes to Archerfile and good to read your daily progress! Katy and I had a lovely time and learned a lot about the Vikings. I hadn’t realised that the horned headress was in fact a Victorian invention! They travelled very widely, it’s thought as far as the Canadian east coast and new evidence has been found in Newfoundland of their presence in the form of steel implements which the natives of that land would not have known about. We had good weather and enjoyed exploring!
ReplyDeleteSounds very interesting Ev. Tell us more.
ReplyDeleteI've had an update on my ' Big Cat ' sighting today.
Apparently in the last two weeks, a local man saw a similar animal in the same field that I saw 'mine ' emerging from a year or so ago. His description was very similar to mine. This is the third sighting within the same small area in two years.
I hope to hear further details at the conference in November.
That's very interesting. Hope you will tell us what comes up at the conference in November. My cousin was advised to contact someone at Southampton university who was making a record of sightings.
DeleteWell, what do you know....so the horned headrests was a Victorian fantasy ! They embellished medieval gear when they went all Pre Raphaelite - how cheeky.
ReplyDeleteLeif Ericsson discovered Newfoundland, I thought - trip to Iceland about 5 years ago, but I guess he counts as a Viking ??
Sounds a fascinating trip, Ev. Tell us more (only if you've time & inclination, of course)
Realize I've just echoed you Mrs P ! Sorry, didn't see yours until after I'd sent.
ReplyDeleteMaybe your big cat has a tribe of babies by now - a mate having joined him
.
Well, some of you asked, so here I go! Did manage to go for couple of Zimmer frame walks yesterday afternoon - to the loo and back! And, most important, in the middle of the night too , anything to avoid the bedpan!! Also got taken down on my bed for a post op X-ray and blood test and my surgeon came to visit and was very cheery and not at all grumpy as I had previously thought,
ReplyDeleteToday physio are going to get me onto crutches instead of zimmer frame and I will have to do climbing stairs and various other test - if successful I MAY be allowed home tonight. I have been surprised that all th pain I am getting is in the muscles of my leg and not in the hip joint or scar and it is very painful getting in and out of bed and manouvering about in bed or a chair. Hopefully it will pass as I get stronger.
Ev your cruise sounds wonderful - which countries did you visit? I love that part of the world and would love to see more
Miriam, I haven’t got my smartphone yet. I just have my little iPod in hosp for keeping in touch. Have used it to listen to TA each evening but cannot remember much about what happened afterwards!
You haven't missed much, Archerphile; best bit was Jim urging his son to get a grip, drop the passive aggressive, & assert his legal rights.
DeleteSo pleased your operation has gone well.
DeleteYou are a model patient so I'm pleased to inform you that TA have awarded the Ambridge medals for your courage and bravery 🎖🏅🏆 in getting rid of the old hip.
Archerfile, it sounds like you are doing really well. I found using the crutches easier than the Zimmer frame, hope all goes well with the physio.
DeleteGood morning Archerphile so glad you have replied to our requests for real time updates we are hoping that our virtual friendship 😀 and support will help to see you through your recovery. especially the first few weeks as you adjust......
DeleteGood morning Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteRemember the feeling of struggling to the loo rather than use the bedpan.
But it gets you on your feet, so a good thing in the long run.
Pleased along with everyone else that your progress is so good.
Hope you make it home on day three.
Well done Archerfile - hope you get home today. In the 70's I trained as a nurse; in those days hip replacements were fairly new and known as Charnley's Anthroplasty. Only fully-trained staff were allowed into the patient's room, not student nurses like me. Patients were laid on their backs, leg/s suspended in the air, and they had to remain there for THREE MONTHS!
ReplyDeleteNo mobile phones or tech either....thank goodness we have progressed. It makes me feel as old as Methusala though.
Same re cataracts 40/50 yrs ago (although not 3 mths in hospital I admit)
DeleteI had a relative who was in hospital for 2 weeks in a darkened room and with dark glasses (if I am remembering my facts correctly....) 🙄 Now a few hours and you are home and the op itself about 10-15 mins as a rule. I had both done during 2013 a marvellous op!
There is a lovely photograph in today's newspaper of the Iranian/British woman who was imprisoned by the Iranians,holding her little fur year old daughter.
ReplyDeleteShe has been given 3days temporary release from prison.
How wonderful it would be if she is permanently released to rejoin her husband in Britain.
MrsP - August 22, 2018 at 11:25 AM - been meaning to thank you for the post on "cows". Very interesting about the speed cameras and most accidents are locals.
ReplyDeleteArcherphile. You are amazing, and I so admire your determined "Get up and Go" attitude. Just keep as motivated, when you get home, but at the same time, be sensible in that, you do not try to overdo things.
ReplyDelete⭐⭐⭐ Gold Stars for a Star person.
I am tired tonight, as I have been cooking for the "Family" Weekend. I have made 2 "meat-loaves" wrapped in streaky bacon -a massive sausagemeat, with caramellised onions + herbs plait, in puff pastry. I have also made a large cheese- cake, with a biscuit base with a vanilla custard cream cheese filling, along with a "retro" topping - orange jelly + tinned mandarin orange segments!
ReplyDeleteIt brings back memories, and I hope the youngsters, will like it.
Must add, I have also prepared a gluten free, lactose free, salamon + aparagus lasagne, for niece No2. This will be cooked, as and when, she wants.It is in the freezer, as she will let me know on which day, she wants it.
DeleteSounds to me Mirium that you could easily be supplementing your income with cooking.
DeleteA small article in your local rag should bring a smattering of clients and word of mouth does the rest.
And you only do the jobs you want.
If you lived near me I'd be a customer Miriam - I am tired after just reading about your day. You could well be my elder sister in disguise 😉
ReplyDeleteNothing more from Archerphile - could be good news as ifshe has gone home will she will without doubt be jolly tired.💤💤