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Life outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments' - Episode 8 Life Outside Ambridge Beach Chairs
On a day of travel chaos, power cuts, lashing wind and torrential rain in the UK - let's all just take a moment to relax...
ReplyDeleteAh, the majesty & steadfastness of the mountains & water ! Thanks, Gary.
DeleteToo right, just spent 2 hours at a station where no trains were running; Mr C.had to pick me up, frustrated by traffic all the way....
Admired your trip, many great sights, despite the need for a speeding return than planned for !
Speedier.
Delete.
Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
ReplyDeleteMiriam, spiders don't like the smell of peppermint oil. You can mix a few drops with water in a spray bottle and spray in the corners of rooms and around doorways etc. I tend to shriek when a big one appears but can just about manage to put a plastic mug over it and put it out now my son isn't here to do it. I was really amused/annoyed one day when I put a large house spider out into the garden and then when I returned home and opened the door this wretched spider ran out from under the shrubbery , legged it up the steps and vanished behind the grandfather clock where I couldn't get it! I have come to the conclusion that even little things have the ability to think when it comes to their wellbeing.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has just arrived home from the holiday park where they have been battening down the hot tub lids because of the wind! and we had a small earthquake here last night- and she says spiders don't like conkers because of a chemical they give off so put one of them in the corners of your rooms.
Hope your baby great nephew gets better very soon, poor little scrap.
I swear by conkers to ward off spiders - I believe it works, so it works! If that makes sense...
DeleteYes waiting to rush out into the close as soon as the conkers are ready. Seems to have worked well most years!
Delete🧚♀️ what a good idea GG - you are looking out for us 😇 and it is appreciated!
ReplyDeleteHow glad am I that I came home last night and not today/tomorrow as planned? Very...
ReplyDeleteYes, a very sensible decision Gary.
DeleteIs anybody else listening to Ulverton.
ReplyDeleteI heard last nights episode with David Threllfall.
Fascinating accent.
I googled it and read a chapter, with more to read on screen.
I've never heard of the book before.
Conkers (fresh) also good against larder moths - perhaps you have those Myriam?
ReplyDeleteSorry to disagree about Spiders and conkers.
ReplyDeleteEach year we put rows of conkers along most of our windowsills but we still get dozens of spiderwebs in our old cottage!
I get told off for not seeing them on the beams due to my poor eyesight so Mr A has had to learn how to use a feather duster! We have festoons of webs behind the radiators, on top of curtains and behind the bed. It’s a full time job getting rid of them - just as well the little culprits (spiders) don’t worry me!p
Walked into our bedroom last night and a corker of a spider was splayed across the left hand curtain just under the header tape! 😱😱😱
DeleteI usually like to them trap into a covered jar and put outside but too high to hope it would not run when disturbed so Mr R used his “grabber” (which most knee /hip replacement people have to hand) and actually got it, not alive anymore though this time...
Could not have gone to bed if it had disappeared 👻 urban wimp!
According to my son in the Philippines they apparently have spiders similar to our house spiders as big as plates but they tend to hide themselves away, and also very large millipede type things from which he has to rescue his wife. He has sent a whatts app video of a praying mantis which is very sweet, and pretty little lizards that scuttle around the walls indoors keeping the flies down.
DeleteMr A, what is wrong with having webs on the beams? my house is full of spiders, I love them, last year for the first time I was thrilled to see a mother with her young, about 8 if I recall correctly. About twice a year I do clean the beams, and then feel bad, but I console myself that they generally make a new one daily. Ilove to see the myriad of spiders webs in the mist when literally 100's show up in the long grass etc.
ReplyDeletere Moths Miriam, they dislike cloves, I have some in my clothes cupboards which I replace from time to time, other wise I leave them alone. Carpets these days have generally been moth proofed.
I had a stupid fear of spiders as a youngster but overcame that when living in Australia where you had to deal with the red backs which could drop onto baby's cot or into the pram!
DeleteNow I most definitely prefer spiders to flies! Spiders can hang around my house all the time if they keep the flies down!
Flies bad, spiders definitely Good!
Delete"Eight legs good, six legs bad"...?
Delete🕷️🕸️👍😄
Delete4 legs & under GOOD, over 4 legs BAD
Delete( exception, bees)
My dad always encouraged us to preserve spiders.
DeleteThey keep down flies.
Like CowGirl I have many spiders webs about my house, and not too many flies as a consequence.
Oh bother, again!! (Tempted to use a stronger word but I don’t usually swear)
DeleteAnother one of my posts has disappeared! 😡
It was just an answer to CG about spiders on beams, not terribly interesting so I won’t write it all out again, but this is very annoying, two posts gone awol in a week!!
You could always say to Mr. A that if you were in a modern bungalow there wouldn't be any beams for him to dust the cobwebs off!😉
DeleteI have a spider catcher which doesn't harm them. I don't mind spiders but do use it to catch and release bees and butterflies that get trapped in the conservatory.
ReplyDeleteI don’t mind spiders, moths, butterflies and other creepy creatures. But I draw the line at flies and wasps. The Hoover is good at minimising the fly population and citronella for the wasps.
ReplyDeleteThe wind here is ferocious causing devastation to the sweet corn and climbing beans.
Thanks all for the toughts re my spider problem. I will try the conker, as it is so natural.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is these spiders are in my kitchen cupboards. I bleach them, vacuum them out and then 2 days later I go to get the food processor out, and more webs have appeared!
Good news - OZ grand nephew, after a "code blue" emergency, is now back home, breathing + eating normally. What a brilliant turn around and a massive relief for all.
Thank you all for your wishes, as it has been very worrying.
Oh Miriam so very pleased to hear such happy news of 👶 grand nephew - release of tension all round! 🤗👏🏻🤗👏🏻
Delete✔️✔️🤗🥰
DeleteAgain I seem to be lucky. I have had hardly any rain, and although a gusty wind
ReplyDeletefor the last 2 hours, it is still a lovely sunny + warm afternoon.
My problem is always the winter storms, when they come from the Atlantic, across Ireland + N.Wales and then hit me!
How I wish I had done, and hung out, the washing! It would have been dry by now.
DeleteNon stop ferocious wind here for days now - no heavy showers with it today though...
DeleteSome pots over and all are dried out now by the wind even after all our 🌧
Weather must be bad in N. Wales, the Wirral, along the R.Dee + R.Mersey estuaries, as there are seagulls flying around. These have come inland for shelter + food and is a sign of bad weather elsewhere.
DeleteWhen it's not raining here it's gorgeous - other half has spent most of the day sat in the warm sunshine in the garden! There has been the odd rumble of thunder and the occasional downpour too to be fair, but nothing so far that's been too crazy...☔⚡🔆
DeleteArcherphile - I can assure you that I have done nothing this end to make your posts go AWOL! Hopefully it's just a temporary glitch at your end. I can only imagine how annoying it must be...
ReplyDeleteThanks Gary. I didn’t think for one minute it was anything you had done! More likely to be a problem with my iPad or internet connection I think.
DeleteI took Lady up to Selsley Common, very windy, but not enough to blow me over, even though coming directly across from the Black Mountains and crossing the Severn.
ReplyDeleteBut home to my neighbour warning me of broken glass over our path and gardens.
The house beside / behind us with large patio area looking straight over the valley had metal table with glass top fly into two cars damaging both and through the back window of one of them.
Expensive !
Oh dear, Mrs P! Our only mishap was when we left Gypsy’s pram halfway along our walk it hopped over a wall and was scratched! The lady whose front garden we park it in rescued it and let us know what had happened in case the wheels fell off going up the hill. They didn’t and it proved how resilient the pram is! It has been very windy today but not much rain. The fast passenger ferries weren’t running so if we wanted to go to the mainland it would have to be on the car ferries. As for us we stayed securely at home battening down the hatches!😴😴
DeleteGoing back to eight-legged creatures for a moment.
ReplyDeleteMy first job after A levels was as a scientific assistant at a Government research lab called The Pest Infestation Laboratory (PIL, for short) in Slough. It’s purpose was to find ways to eliminate insect pests and fungal infestations from stored food products, on farms, in ship holds, warehouses etc. We were trying to invent new pesticides (how ironic considering the current TA story) and fumigants, deadly to pests but not to humans of course!
One of my jobs was to breed and look after the cockroaches, grain weevils and other insects to be used in experiments.
Later I went on to specialise in mites, microscopic eight-legged creatures found everywhere, especially in homes where, as dust mites, they can cause asthma. Everything had to be done under a microscope as they are virtually invisible to the naked eye.
I think this is why I have no fear of spiders or any other insects (apart from wasps) having been very ‘up close and personal’ with them in the past! 🕷 🦟 🦗
Well you are full of surprises AP and all very interesting! What a boon to not be afraid of our eight legged friends. The bigger ones at least tend not to run quickly and therefore easier to catch and put outside whereas smaller /medium sized ones love to scuttle....
DeleteAt least this post did not disappear into the ether!
DeleteHooray! 😃
DeleteHow is Mr AP getting on in Canada?
DeleteMy hanging basket, planted with "apricot shades" trailing begonias, is now far too heavy to take down. It did get a bit bashed yesterday, losing a lot of flowers and one huge stem.
ReplyDeleteLuckily that was the worst for me.
As the hanging basket is so full + vibrant, the small damage is not noticeable.
Off to create tea. I am doing a Pip - meatballs!
This time -lamb mince with chopped apricots, onions + oats - to be cooked in a red-wine gravy, with carrots, mushrooms, onions + rosemary.
I made the meatballs, whilst listening to this morn omnibus, which I enjoyed and it filled in a few gaps.
My predictions:-
ReplyDeletea)Freddie starts work at GG under the guidance of Roy, Lynda + Oliver.
b)Tracey becomes a barmaid at The Bull, as I can see 3 very opiniated females together, namely Jolene, Lillian + Tracey. Let the sparks + dare I say the "bitchiness" begin. I would actually feel sorry for Kenton, for a change.
Wrong board! Not that it matters, as I have given my simple thoughts.
DeleteI will be watching BBC4, The Proms, tonight
ReplyDeleteIt is the Requiem by Mozart, a piece of music, I know well + love.
Whereabouts in Canada is your husband visiting, Archerphile?
ReplyDeleteSome time ago I was in a queue at a small Post Office in Cheshire when the woman in front of me asked how much it would cost to send a parcel to Canada.
She turned round to me and said that her son and grandchildren lived there.
I said that mine. did too.
To cut to the quick it turned out that not only did they live in the same small town in British Columbia but we found out later that her granddaughter and my elder grandson were in the same class at school.
(The staff behind the counter stopped serving to listen to our conversation and the people behind us in the queue seemed fascinated by the coincidence)
Good grief. Talk about it being a small world.
ReplyDeleteSix degrees of separation.
DeleteHow many in this instance ?
Mr A is staying at a place called Sarnia, near Toronto at the moment. He had twin step-brothers aged 88 who were his father’s sons by his first wife. First wife fell for a Canadian serviceman and took the 2 little boys off to Canada to live with him there, abandoning Mr A’s father.
ReplyDeleteMr A’s father later remarried and baby Mr A was born. He actually knew nothing about having these 2 stepbrothers until his father died some years ago and their existence only came to light at the reading of the Will.
He had been corresponding with them and decided to go to Canada to meet them as they were too old and infirm to travel to England.
He booked the tickets back in April. Within a week we heard one of the brothers had died of a heart attack. Less than a month later the second brother died of Alzheimer’s!
But Mr A decided to go anyway, meet and stay with his step- nephew and visit his step-brothers graves to pay his respects.
And that is what he is doing this week, meeting lots of relatives he never knew he had whilst growing up.
Oh, and yesterday they took him to see Niagara Falls!
What a story! It’s sad the twins died before Mr A could meet them but at least he is with his nephew who can tell him all about them. My younger brother when researching the family tree found out that our Scottish grandfather’s father married twice and there were about 10 children in all. Grandfather was from the second batch! The youngest of all was a girl called Robina who fell in love and went to America with her amour. She was never mentioned and seems to have been written off. It must have been early in the 20 th century. We must have relatives allbeit distant ones in America but as yet have not been able to find them. As with Mr A big family secrets! What experiences for him! Niagara Falls is so beautiful and well worth the visit. I’m sure he will thoroughly enjoy this visit and you will have so much to talk about when he returns!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first came to live in the south of England to a suburb of London I had never before heard of,I decided to research my family tree as I knew my father was a Londoner.
ReplyDeleteI learned that my paternal grandmother ,her mother and grandmother were born in the same suburb as I now live ,when it was a mere hamlet.
Miriam. I watched and listened to the Proms last night. The requiem was fantastic. 🎼🎻
ReplyDeleteArcherphile. Toronto is an interesting town. Maybe MrA will be able to visit the underground shopping centres and bring you back a nice present.
I met a couple who lived in a tower block and they simply took the lift down to do all their shopping. No need to go outside for anything, especially in the winter. The winters are extremely 🥶 cold.
He is under strict instructions to bring me back some genuine Canadian Maple Syrup, one of my absolute favourite flavours. Sadly, I won’t be able to try it until my 800 cal diet is finished - but then, my first treat will be pancakes with maple syrup!
DeleteI frequently have Maple Syrup, but mine comes via the supermarket.
DeleteI don't like bananas but cut into slices with maple syrup makes them palatable.
I also have it with yoghurt.
When we were young our best friends emigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto. We tried to emigrate to join them but Canada didn't want us.
We lost touch with the friends whose marriage broke up at the same time as ours.
He had always wanted to be a film director but wasn't progressing enough here in the U.K.
When moving I came across a reel of film which the four of us had all been instrumental in creating and googled him. I found that not only had he become a film director in Canada but his films had become a cult.
I sent him an email via the Canadian Film Academy and we corresponded for a short time. He joked that the reel of film was his lost masterpiece.
I still have it, and still don't know what to do with it.
I think many of us will have distant relatives in Canada.
ReplyDeleteThose of us now in our seventies and eighties had grandparents who had siblings who went to Canada. My mum always said that her fathers cousins had gone and she remembered letters from Canada when she was a child.
Then her best friend married and I was her bridesmaid ( I still have my tiny pink dress hanging in a room upstairs ) and she and husband then also went to Canada. She was my Godmother, but there was never any further contact.
My husband’s great grandparents emigrated to Canada with three boys. They had a chicken farm but the locals didn’t like the immigrants and were setting fire to their outhouses. Great grandma had a melt down as a result and when she became pregnant with Mike’s father they decided to return and ended up in Tooting. The pregnancy didn’t result in her longed for daughter and she never forgave dad for being a boy! She did then go on to have a daughter and finished up with another son! He became a baptist minister and with the exception of dad the others went into insurance. Dad suffered from deafness so didn’t do well at school but he went into catering and travelled around the country picking up skills here and there. He ended up with a business where he did all the baking to stock a bakery. I still have his recipe book but the quantities of ingredients are enormous! I find it difficult to cook two things at once so I think he had a remarkable talent!
ReplyDeleteMy Grandma's elder brother emigrated to Canada in the 30s, his son worked as a solicitor in Toronto - he seemed incredibly glamorous to us on their visits back to good old Grimsby!
ReplyDeleteMr A doesn’t know what he’s started on this blog - so many of us have connections with Canada.
DeleteWhen I was 2, I swallowed a Kirby Grip which lodged in my stomach and I was very close to having peritonitis. So I was rushed to the Canadian Red Cross hospital at Taplow for an emergency operation. I was encarcerated for 2 weeks during which time my parents were not allowed to visit, only peeking at me via the ward Sister’s office window, in case seeing them upset me!
Thanks to the Canadian Forces establishing their own Hospital for the treatment of their troops injured in WW2, then bequeathing the hospital to the local people at the end of the war, my life was saved.
Well!!
ReplyDeleteNever mind “Long lost families” on tv as you say AP what an interesting topic Mr A’s visit to Canada has generated. My eldest sister a family history fanatic will be captivated by Mr AP’s story.
I also have distant relatives in Canada. My father's younger brother was a Dr. who married a hungarian and in the mid-60's emigrated to Canada + produced 3 sons. My uncle died tragically, at a young age. He was a Class1 insulin dependant diabetic and died from diabetic + heart complications. I met one canadian cousin in the 90's when he came to the UK and stayed with my grandma. He was great + we got on really well.Sadly a few years late he died from a heart problem (inherited from his Dad?).
ReplyDeleteI have 2 other younger cousins, who I have never met, plus all the families from the 3 cousins, whom I know nothing about. I do not even know if my Aunty is still alive. I have very limited memories of her, just photos.
PS They are based near to Vancouver.
DeleteI probably have some distant relatives in Canada. The details I have are very sketchy, apparently my great grandfather on my father's side was widowed and went to Canada to start a new life and family. He wanted my father's mother to go with him but she refused preferring to stay in the UK with her three sisters. Of the four girls she was the only one who married due to the shortage of eligible men following the first world war. I do remember the three maiden aunts who lived together till they were quite old, they were a formidable trio!
ReplyDeleteI also had a couple of great Aunts (who were sisters), who lost their loved ones in 1914-1918 and then lived together. They took comfort from each other, in their grief together, which they never got over. They were two lovely gentle-women, who each had a bottle of stout, every day, as it was good source of iron!
DeleteImportant Question - are there any Archers listeners in Canada and do any of them read or contribute to our blogs? 🇨🇦
ReplyDeleteI am sure there are many who listen.
DeleteCan I bring up a totally new subject and enquire about one of the most irritating spoken phrases to me and ask:
ReplyDeleteWho says, I am fed up with....
Who says, I am fed up of....
I keep hearing the latter on radio and TV and it really makes me grind my teeth because I am a ‘fed up with’ person!
I wonder if it is a regional difference, a north v south thing, or even a class difference.
Should be glad to hear other’s opinions, perhaps even have poll on the subject.
(Post prompted by hearing a politician saying ‘people are fed up of ......’ on the radio this morning. It made me wince!)
It grates with me too.
DeleteIt should be ' I am fed up with....
I am in the "fed up with" camp - and I am fed up with people saying "vunrebul" when they mean "vu-L-nerable"...😀
DeleteDefinitely - it is I am fed up with..
DeleteI hate - I heard off ...today. To me this should be, I heard from ...today.
'Going forward' annoys me.
DeleteMe too ! Has the word ' future' become extinct.
DeleteAlso the fashion for 'issue' instead of 'problem'
AND don't speak to me about 'mental health', if ' mental illness' is meant. Have heard so many say somebody has mental health, worse still, mental health issues. Great, I think, how lucky they are - so few of us can claim to be in peak condition mentally....
I hate continuity announcers who say such & such... will be on inanour!! If they mean in an hour why can't they say that!! Grrr!
ReplyDeleteIs it...the couple is A+B, or the couple are A+B.?
ReplyDeleteThis has always confused me.
Miriam,
ReplyDeleteI think that if one is talking about a couple as two people who were married in Church for example you would say that the couple “were married in Church “rather than “was married in Church” but if you were talking about a couple as a single item like for example if people were paired off in a three legged race - one couple was the winner .
I could have (not of,) expressed that better.
where do the English specialists stand on
DeleteNone of you is right (ie not one of you is right)
Or
None of you are right?
I always use the first but actually think the second sounds better.
I'd go for 'is'.
DeleteI go for 'are'.
DeleteHow about the word “team”?
ReplyDeleteI think for example
The England team will have “its “work cut out to win the next Test Match
Others might think that
The English team”are” going to struggle.
Again I favour the singular but may not be correct.
Where the team is referred to as an entity, it is singular.
DeleteThis is my dilemma.Is a team or a couple, classed as a singular entity, but as these contain more than one person, is it a plural situation.
DeleteI do both, sometimes is and others are.
Checked on these, both can be used depending on intention. If you speak of team as an entity, , or you as a unit of people , then singular ; if not, plural.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn,I think we are in agreement in both cases.
ReplyDeleteLJ + Carolyn. Thanks. This means either, is or are, seem to be equally correct. I appreciate your replies, Miriam 😆
ReplyDelete......but if you intend plurality, as in 'all of you ARE wonderful', definitely not 'is' !
DeleteOoo, lovely! Lots of spoken errors! Glad being fed up WITH seems to be most popular here.
ReplyDeleteOne other word that infuriates both Mr A and me is the constant use of “basis” as in:-
On a regular basis
On a daily basis
On a monthly basis etc etc
“Basis” is not required at all, why not simply say “regularly”, “daily”, “monthly”
Grrrrrr!
I'm with Carlyn about mental health. In my work I ask about mood / anxiety and history of mental ILL health. He / she /I have mental health ... how lucky!
ReplyDeleteI would say fed up with, but I'm now wondering what I would say about rain ... with or of ... sounding it out, probably with.
In the many reorganisations of the NHS in my working life, there have been many mentions of 'due regard' ...
'Due regard' of ...???? Grrr!
Cheered your first sentence, Zoetrope, that you soeak it as it is !!
Delete'With' has to be correct. 'Fed up of' just doesn't make sense ( fine if you say 'I've had enough of...')
Yes, of course Carolyn.☺
DeleteIt drives me bananas when someone says "NCP car park" or "naan bread" - "National Car Parks car park" and "bread bread"! Grrr...
ReplyDeleteChill, Gary. From the get-go this is, like, an awesome learning curve. But, bear with me, it's not a problem. I didn't sign up for it but it's not like I can't get my head around it. It's a head-to-head game-changer but at the end of the day I nailed it. Laters...
DeleteCool, man ! Think outside the box, like.
DeleteI don’t know why but when people say ‘thus far’ when we always used to say ‘so far’,that annoys me
ReplyDeleteThis is not a grammatical mistake but when some idiot with a microphone goes up to the winner in a race or after he or she has won a tennis match and says “How does it make you feel? ”, I wonder what the person would think if the reply was “blooming knackered “.
The other thing that is said is “Talk us through it”
Why ?
We will have just watched it happen..
I'm afraid I often write, ' thus far', but I think I usually say ' so far'.
DeleteWhen I discuss my mental health I usually say 'I have good mental health at the moment', or 'I have poor mental health ' or ' my mental health is not very stable right now '.
What annoys me is that we call our national service for health the NHS
The National Health Service, when in fact since its inception it has been a national ill service.
The NHS is addressing this and now that so much preventative work is in progress we can at last begin to call it a National Health Service.
Any others like me with a grandchild in late teens.
ReplyDeleteBe aware ( you probably are ! ) it's A level results day on Thursday.
Oh yes a vitally important day. Thankfully, our granddaughter Rosie has to wait until next August for her results. She is currently doing the rounds of the Universities to try to decide which one she wants to apply to. So far Exeter and York seem to be favourites.
DeleteNo Mrs P but am aware as Katy is the teacher and will be going in early on Thursday morning! Hope your grandchild will be celebrating!
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed for all those waiting for exam results.
ReplyDeleteTo change the subject once again, can I just remind people of the archers get together on the 6th of sept at 11 o’clock-ish at the Barbican. It’ll soon be here!!!
I’m sure Mrs P will let us know exactly where we’ll be meeting.
Personally speaking, I’m really looking forward to it......and that lump of cake Lanjan will be owing me by then I’m sure!!!! Our little bet re Tim/Mr Big!!!
Carolyn ? Over to you........
DeleteTo all those expecting to come to the BARBICAN Meet Up.
If you google the Barbican there is a very good map of the building and its environs.
Worth downloading to have it with you on your visit.
I will open a new "Barbican Blog" tomorrow, just as Ruthy did last year for the Waterloo Station meet-up...
DeleteThank you kind sir.
DeleteDifferent to ....or different from ?
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was different from and similar to. I have checked and it seems that either is acceptable these days.
DeleteRegarding Barbican meet-up. I should have liked to join you all this year but physically, I would find it very difficult to get the the Barbican. Despite my new hip, I am still not very good at walking very far and would find it difficult negotiation my way across London on the tube (something I have not done for over 30 years!). Had it been at Waterloo again, I think I could have managed that as I should only have had to get off the train and find the cafe.
ReplyDeletePerhaps next year?
Or somewhere reachable by car, where a spouse or partner could amuse themselves whilst we met up, like Oxford, or a National Trust property everyone could get to?
I know it’s very difficult to choose, as we are spread all over the country and some of us are less mobile than others. 😔
We'll have to put our thinking caps on when we meet, Archerphile. I wonder if there is a station near you, has cafes just outside, something like that, which also fits with what most of us could manage ?
DeleteArcherphile, I was thinking about this last night.
DeleteAs it was me that suggested the Barbican I am feeling a little concerned that it has worried LJ and has now left you feeling it would be too far.
Along with LJ I would be happy to make the effort to help with the journey if you feel you could get to Waterloo.
Such a shame that you feel thwarted if you would like to join us.
No worries this end Mrs P.
DeleteWe can’t keep going to Waterloo just because it is convenient for me .
There are buses from Waterloo to the Barbican but if Archerphile can come too-and anyone else in her position,I am happy to get there by Uber.
I love them so any excuse.....
Archerphile,I have an idea.
ReplyDeleteIf you can get to Waterloo I could meet you there and we can get an Uber taxi to the Barbican.
My treat as it doesn’t cost me anything to get to London.
How about that?
Dear Lanjan, that is incredibly kind of you and I really appreciate your offer of help.
DeleteI think I need to see how I manage actually getting on and off of a train before I decide.
It was one of the things I found most difficult before my hip op. And now my opposite knee is so bad it might not be possible.
I shall try taking a local train down to Winchester next week and see how I get on (or not on!) and off. Sometimes the step up onto the train is so high it could be a real problem.
I’ll let you know ow the experiment goes!
You could try asking for the little ramps that wheelchair users require to help them on and off of trains Archerphile, I'm sure all stations in the UK have them!
DeleteGood idea Gary, but would they get them out for somebody who is not in a wheelchair but just has a walking stick I wonder?
DeleteI would be shocked beyond words if they said no!!!
DeleteArcherphile, I saw this thread after posting on the meet-up blog.
DeleteI think everyone is willing you to attend, I am fortunate enough to be in robust physical shape so happy to help.
I have kept the badge I made for identification purposes, but I'm afraid I won't be joining you this time either.
ReplyDeleteSir Ron - I totally like, like your reply above! Like, like like!! You gets me...? Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
ReplyDeleteOh yes Sir Ron and Gary - I don’t like ‘like’ either! There was an interview on TV a couple of weeks ago with a young lad who had won a massive prize for competing in some computer game or other. During the interview, I will swear that every other word he used was ‘like’. It became almost farcical after a while and made me despair of youngsters being able to string a proper sentence together. Must be all that time spent on computer games rather than speaking to actual, live people!
DeleteSir Ron covered ' no problem' in his pastiche of 'youf' speak, & this is a bet noire of mine in restaurants ; you ask for something on the menu & they say, ' no problem. Well, it shouldn't be, should it ? Or where the loo is, you say thanks, they reply 'N P' .
DeleteI wonder what they say when there IS a problem ( loos flooded, they've run out of sea bass ....)
.
Carolyn - it wasn't so much "youf" speak as cliches you hear every day on, for example, the Today programme. And don't get me going on contributors who begin their sentences with "So...".
DeleteOh, yes - just re-reading it there was a bit of "youf" in it.
DeletePossibly the reason that listening numbers are reduced on Today Sir Ron ?
DeleteI am loving the photo at the top of this page, as it is exactly how I am feeling at the moment. The contact lens in my L.eye comes out tonight, for 3 weeks, due to appoint. for measurements to determine the lens strength, for my 2nd cataract op. (no date yet).
ReplyDeleteAs I said, in clinic last week, I actually saw a consultant. The 2nd op. was mentioned so I talked. She said it should be done asap, even though I am not having vision problems, but there is a pressure increase, though this is still in normal limits. Two days later I received an appoint. made + posted on the same day. She did as she said she would.
There is now no driving for 3 weeks. For the past 2 days I have been OCD in writing lists + shopping. I can walk to a shop 15mins away for essentials eg bread milk + veg but that is all I will need.
Gardening, household chores, reading etc will be as normal, so there will be no problems.
I should have said "within" normal levels, as we are talking about correct english..🤣🤣
DeleteGood news Miriam, that you are being treated quickly. Obviously worthwhile speaking up!
DeleteRe. Shopping for more than bread and milk, you could always try a delivery service,
When I was laid up for several weeks, unable to drive, I used Ocado. They were a little bit more expensive than Sainsburys but the service was excellent, huge variety of products and never anything missing or substituted from my order.
I use Tesco when feeling lazy or am time poor, but have wondered about Ocado, as they certainly deliver to my road. Thanks for the info', AP. ( Tesco does do some substitutions).
DeleteThanks. The lovely person I saw, said that 5 months since op1 and still no dates for op2, needed sorting, and she did. I am so grateful I said what I felt, in a calm + sensible manner.
DeleteIt will still be 6 months between ops and to think I was originally referred in June 2018.
The whole process will have taken 18 months. It might even be longer, as no op. date yet. I am just feeling a bit down and pessimistic tonight.
Sorry, but it is only now.
Walking to local shop and picking up essential supplies is not a problem and is good excercise.. It is remembering what is bought, has to be carried back!
DeleteCarolyn, the good thing about Ocado is that they fulfil their orders from a huge warehouse, rather from a local store. So everything is picked automatically by computer operated machines, instead of shop staff going around a store filling up a trolly. I found using Sainsburys home delivery depended on what was in stock in the local store. I ordered some fresh salmon fillets from them and as there were none in stock that day they substituted with a tin of salmon!
DeleteMind you, our (fairly) local Ocado warehouse at Andover had a huge fire earlier this year which caused an enormous amount of damage, but they are just about back to normal now. They also keep lots of brands you can’t easily get in a local store, which I like.
Miriam, you could get yourself a shopping trolley to bring the shopping home. I have one I use occasionally if I go into Morrison’s in Newport on the bus. I had a delivery from Morrison’s last week as Katy has not been over to Cowes and Aldi recently. On the whole it was good except for frozen salmon in a sauce full of additives instead of fresh salmon and bacon from the EU full of water and additives again! I usually stick to British bacon because of welfare standards and quality and to be fair should have noticed the origin of this one online! Everything else was fine and well packaged. The young man who delivered it was lovely too and very polite and helpful. He took the frozen salmon back!
DeleteI have no problem, with the phrase "no problem". There is an equivalent in both italian + spanish, which is just part of the normal every-day language and always well used.
ReplyDeleteNo problem is easy to use, when phrases such as:-
Deletea) It was my pleasure
b) I was happy to do so
are neither actually true nor genuine .
I speak from my experience only.
That shows it's not only the English who are sloppy in their language usage !
DeleteMy point was that it's incorrect to use the expression in circumstances where there isn't a problem ( restaurants serve food, their staff take orders. ) Of course, nothing wrong in saying ' no problem' when reassuring people about a potential problem, or when you're putting yourself out to help in some way.
But the really irritating thing about "no problem" is when you have spent half an hour on the phone to, for example, a utility company, a computer company or an internet provider trying to get an answer to a frustrating difficulty - but without solution. As you sign off from the "chat agent" saying that we are getting nowhere, he/she comes back with "no problem". Yes, there is a damn problem, I cry. I have just spent the last thirty minutes trying to explain it to you; haven't you been listening?
DeleteAutomatic phrases - bah! In restaurants I think we are all familiar with a mixed group being addressed as "guys", but have you noticed how anything you choose from the menu is now met with a "oh, good choice!"?
"oh, good choice" being said when I am ordering from a menu in a restaurant, is fine, by me.
DeleteIt is my choice, so I know it is a good one!
Archerphile from now on if I mention the Barbican again it will be on the special blog but I want to reply to what you wrote earlier.
ReplyDeleteDon’t look for difficulties.
You will be fine.
If you know what train you will be on I will meet you off it and get a porter to help you off the train.
Come on ,I bet like me you were a Girl Guide and we smile and sing (or swear under our breath ) )when we encounter difficulties.
Sorry Lanjan, but no, I wasn’t allowed to join Girl Guides! You are being super kind and encouraging so I will try out the train next week as promised.
DeleteRe Ocado.
ReplyDeleteI used them a lot because they have or had Waitrose products.
Now M and S are going in with them which is really good news for me.
I am not loyal to any of them.
If I get a voucher through the post with an amount off if I spend £50 that suits me fine.
The cats don’t care where their Felix comes from.
We are lucky that we have an Iceland which sells Gregg’s pasties and sausage rolls near here-and they deliver and it doesn’t cost a penny.
Oh I do agree about the use of “guys” ,Sir Ron but I also hate children being referred to as if they were baby goats.
ReplyDeleteI know some people of my age hate to be called by their Christian or first names.
I love it.
I am usually asked how I like to be addressed.
Yes I always like to be asked, what do I call you?. I hate formality, but that is my personal preference.
DeleteI hate that constant use of smart phones + similar devices, used by the younger generation. I say this, as whilst I was shopping today, a female teenager collided with my trolley as she was so busy messaging, she didn't see me nor was aware where she was. She then had the cheek to say to me - "Whatch wear you're going". I bit my tongue - which was difficult.
ReplyDeletecorrection - where not wear
DeleteI find that it's everyone these days Miriam. When I got the train from Newcastle to Glasgow last week I was genuinely the only person in the carriage looking out of the window. It was singularly depressing...
DeleteI can’t understand the preoccupation with phones. While walking our dogs we saw a young woman trailing three dogs on leads busily talking into her phone. I find out two need undivided attention on walks and I’m only too glad to do It! Katy encountered a woman on her way to school recently in a narrow lane with three dogs on fully extended leads while she was on her phone. Katy slowed down and had to stop when one of the dogs went across her path. The young woman then berated her! You are not alone, Miriam! Even worse is when you see young mothers talking or texting on the phone while their small child is clamouring for their attention. None of these people are enjoying the company of their child or their dogs!
ReplyDeleteThat’s our two in the second line!
ReplyDeleteIt just saddens me that people are not living in the present. Their mind is always elsewhere. If I am with someone who is constantly checking their phone, I wait for a bit and then when they are trying to tell me something I stare off into the distance, ignoring them for about 30 seconds and when they ask what the hell I'm doing I wait a few more moments and then explain to them I'm doing EXACTLY what they were doing. It always makes them put their phone back in their pocket!!! 😀
ReplyDeleteWell done Gary, that's the way to do it.
DeleteAnd politely too.
Taken out to tea at Prior Park Gardens in Bath by granddaughter this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteFollowed by extremely heated discussion with all three teenage G children and mum and me.
Very entertaining, they are so articulate and passionate. ( and opinionated).
I wholeheartedly approve MrsP! There's nothing like a good old fashioned robust exchange of views. So many people these days are either too quick to fly off the handle or are too scared to say what they think in case someone DOES fly off the handle! Your family sounds like a healthy one to me...
DeleteThank you Gary.
DeleteThe eldest ( results today, not bad ) does fly off the handle, but the other two and mum ( and me) all do our best to calm her down and they handle her well.
She retreats eventually, knowing she is at fault, but does 'get over it'.
But yes, no sitting watching television and monosyllabic muttering in evidence.
Glad to report that Mr A is safely back from Canada but vows he will never fly with Air Canada again! He said both flights were noisy (due to constant rattling) and the planes were distinctly showing their age. The flights were uncomfortable and the food provided was dreadful! After an overnight flight back, during which he couldn’t sleep, ‘breakfast’ consisted of a small slice of sweet bread in a plastic bag and a cup of coffee! Added to the fact that the flight out left four and a half hours late due to a ‘technical fault’ he was not at all impressed. Shortly after getting home he received an email, apologising for the long delay and offering compensation......of a discount off his next Air Canada flight! Needless to say, he won’t be using it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, he did enjoy his time inCanada , meeting several step-nephews and other semi-related family members going to Niagra and exploring Toronto. He went to the memorial ground where his twin brothers ashes are buried and said it was a really lovely, peaceful place. He was given a beautiful little card, with details of their funerals, poems and photographs of each brother.
It is quite uncanny that both of them are the spitting image of their, and Mr A’s, father and also couldn’t be mistaken for anyone other than his brothers.......and to think that for most of his life, he didn’t even know they existed!
Oh dear planes and the family not doing very well of late AP, although Mr P is safely back and that is very good news 🤗
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that the family reunions were enjoyed by all - an emotional time.....
Despite the difficulties Mr A is back home safely and had a wonderful experience Archerphile with memories to treasure, and I'm sure no regrets about his decision to undertake the journey.
DeleteOh, most certainly Mrs P. It was quite a revelation to discover he had two half brothers who are his spitting image and he enjoyed meeting previously unknown relatives - and also seeing a bit of the country. He is just very sorry and cross with himself for being 3 months too late to meet his brothers in person. Moral: never put off until tomorrow........
DeleteBut if he ever goes agin, it will be with a different airline!
What an interesting and emotional trip Mr A has had. It seems it meant a lot to him, and has given him, never to be forgotten, new memories.
DeleteWill they all keep in touch?
Like BA it seems that Air Canada has gone down in the quality of their flights. We went with them a few years back and were very comfortable as we were assigned two seats on their own. The food was good and ice cream was brought round shortly before arrival. BA used to offer drinks and we enjoyed a g & t for me and a Bloody Mary for Mike then a glass of wine with hot dinner. Last time we flew with them it was a cold snack going out and the same coming back and it wasn’t really very good. Nowadays when I fly it’s with EasyJet or Tui and I usually get food from Pret A Manger and have a hot drink on board. At least you can then choose what you want! So pleased Mr A had a good trip and he will have lovely memories!
DeleteI have an exciting catch-up with some very close friends, I grew up with. I know I have mentioned this before, but there were 3 local families who all had caravans, spent very many weekends + holidays together, lived close and went to the same schools. We have nearly all, met up over about the last 6/7 years, but only at the funerals of parents (sad but still lovely).
ReplyDeleteThere is a confirmed date in October, when the 6 of us, plus partners (who all know each other), will be having a wonderful day together, to just enjoy each others friendship, and just have a great catch-up. Even after over 40yrs, we all still have a very strong cameraderie, enjoy each others company and a good laugh together.
PS Before then, I have to make a "bobble" for an aran bobble hat (which is now obviously missing).This hat was bought on a combined caravan in Ireland, in 1968 and is still worn, to this day!
PS I have made a mistake. We have known each other for over 50 years, not the 40 I originally posted.
DeleteMiriam, I too have friends I have known for a very, very long time. The person I stayed with in Dumfries during my recent cycling adventure has been a very close pal for 49 years. I am 49 & a half! It feels amazing to have known someone for so long doesn't it?
DeleteGG I know that feeling. I find it slightly strange, that such friendships, of 50 years, stiill mean so much and that all feel the same.
DeleteThe friend whose funeral I was unable to attend ( because of being unable to leave the dog) earlier this year was my landlady before I got married.
DeleteI was married in 1966 so 53 years.
My other long term friendship will have been for fifty three years this year.
I have another friend rather younger than myself who has a friendship going back to nursery school and infants date.
These friendships grow with us.
I still cannot count very well.
DeleteHave just re read my post above and am confused at what I wrote.
My longest friendship from age eighteen has now endured for sixty years.
A lovely sunny + calm evening here tonight. I have watered, even though there is a yellow warning for torrential rain tomorrow. I expect it won't happen though, but it's wait + see (with my one good eye).
ReplyDeleteThe coup de grace from the Golden Wedding Party we went to - a nice little handwritten thank you card arrived this morning, specifically mentioning the plant we had taken. Obviously the clipboard idea had worked well!
ReplyDeleteOnly drawback was the suggestion that we meet up again before long to catch up on all the years since we last met.
I think I am going to be very busy, with loads of other appointments for the next few months ! 😉
Holy moly 😱😱😱 Nooooo!
DeleteYou had deleted your original account of the "Golden Wedding Horror Show" by the time I had got back from somewhere Archerphile - have been intrigued ever since! What was the clipboard all about? 😮
DeleteSorry about that Gary. I was pretty critical in that blog and after posting it, realised there could well be some Archers listeners amongst the large number of attendees at the garden party who might regocnise my descriptions of what went on.
DeleteThé clip board was what we were greeted with at the garden gate to be ticked off as having turned up, especially as we were late due to a long traffic choked drive.
The second clipboard was to record *exactly* what gift we had brought with us!
To be fair, on reflection, it was probably quite a good idea, considering the number of people attending and the large task of sending out thankyous - but could have been done a bit more discretely we felt.
Like a trip to a London on 6th September,Archerphile!
ReplyDeleteHope so Lanjan, working on it!
Delete