Zoetrope - September 14, 2021 at 8:01 PM Ooh Miriam, I've never seen porcini stock cubes. Where do you get them? They sound delicious.
Spicycushion - September 14, 2021 at 8:45 PM PTBY - I too had mushroom risotto tonight. One night when I don't have to cook two meals; one meat for Jon and one vege for me !
Ev - September 14, 2021 at 9:12 PM We usually have a veg meal once a week on a Monday but yesterday did sneak in a bit of streaky bacon! I did a fennel, chestnut mushroom and tomato sauce with pasta. We have fish on a Friday, a habit more than a religious reason. The rest of the week depends on inspiration and availability of ingredients! I have a nice recipe for chicken and mushroom risotto. It’s easy to cook and just uses one pan - a wok. We got into using them when we lived in Hong Kong. They are very practical and as you can toss the food around you need less oil. 😊🥢🥢
Mistral - September 14, 2021 at 9:00 PM I made a Lancashire hotpot an hour ago, but forgot it takes 2.5 hrs to cook, so desperate to avoid beans on toast, have made cheese soup, my favourite, and microwave sponge pudding, using as a base some marmalade that had been soaking in gin since last October. I love winter food.
Ev - September 15, 2021 at 9:26 AM Hotpot! Something to look forward to tonight, Mistral? You are just like me in not taking cooking time into consideration! It will be well marinated for today though!
It's Life Lines. I wonder if it is a repeat or a new series? I still have all the series + their episodes, which have been broadcast to date, downloaded. I also have all the Clare in the Community episodes, from all the 12 series downloaded. I am up to series 7, but I still laugh out loud. It is my silly sense of humour..😂
Mrs P. It is me, who has also, just loved this radio programme. I have been watching the TV series "Ambulance", filmed in the pandemic in Jan/Feb this year, 2021. This showed the control room and ambulance crews, really struggling. I felt quite humble, watching how they tried to cope.
I agree Miriam “ Ambulance” during the pandemic should be compulsory viewing my thanks and admiration knows no bounds. Also at the height of the pandemic the 2 specials made in a hospital surreal to say the least! God bless them all 🙏🏼
Lady R. My heart went out to all who appeared in "Ambulance" esp. at the end, when it was learnt, what happened to those shown. One thing, which certainly opened my eyes, was those with mental health problems and how well they were treated and counceled, by the special crew. As for the "clothes" donation ..words fail me.
I enjoyed Life Lines too, I shall look it up on Sounds.
We went to a couple of recordings of Clare in the Community, when you were still allowed to do such things ... Actually, they were the final episodes to be recorded although, just to be confusing, they weren't actually the final episodes of the series.
Another series I loved was Curious Under the Stars, very Dylan Thomas-y. I wasn't quite sure about the latest and final series though - it all got a bit too 'meta' for me.
Zoetrope. To reply. My porcini mushroom stock cubes have only ever been bought in Italy. My two last packets, which are now well out-of-date, were bought in Sicily, in 2015. I wandered off to a nearby alimentari, to buy them. TBH They are fine, and do make a great difference to risotto's, pasta dishes etc.
Thank you Miriam. I think we have what might be an Alimentari not far from me (well, an Italian specialist food shop 🤔) . I may visit it soon for the first time.
I have made a massive clothes donation, which were all of good quality, into the Oxfam bins recently. I just hope that they will go to, those in true need for whatever reason, due to many unfortunate circumstances. At least I have tried to make a difference 🤷♀️
Well done Miriam, they'll either go directly to people who need them or into the shops to raise funds to help people.
My Granny and Great-Aunt were involved with Oxfam for years. They invited Mary Wilson to open their local shop, she agreed, providing she could bring her husband along. Apparently, after the ceremony Harold Wilson sat in my Great-Aunt's sitting room and smoked cigars.
Granny was good at picking up bargains for me but I learnt the hard way as a child not to admit to wearing second hand clothes from Oxfam. Now, of course, it's fashionable and green - Granny and I were just several years ahead of the curve : )
Being a wartime child I was always used to wearing second hand clothes and later as a teenager embraced vintage, just one step further back. I had a special lady, Francis, in Portabello and another in Shepherds Bush Market, who would both hold particular pieces for me, and still possess many of my vintage finds. I had no problem in dressing my daughters from charity shops and school sales, but my eldest utterly refused to wear second hand clothes but my youngest was very happy to do so. That daughters daughters (?) also now, happily embrace second hand.
I wonder, do churches still have jumble sales? And schools and hospitals used to hold fetes with second-hand and white elephant stalls. That was in the days before charity shops I suppose. There was never anything similar in Italy and the only charity shops I am aware of are for example Unicef, selling their own products. There are however second-hand markets which are run for profit. If they agree to take what you take to them, you state the price you want it to be displayed at and when it is sold 50% goes to you and 50 to the market. They are very popular.
After disastrous start to our cruise we are now very comfortably established on board. Currently sailing up Geiranger Fiord, the longest in Norway. It will take all day to get to the end. Sitting in a beautiful panoramic lounge sipping cappuccinos and enjoying the views.
Am eating (and drinking) far too much! We are constantly being plied with wonderful meals, all day buffets and snacks. Champagne seems to be brought around on the slimmest of excuses so it’s a good job I don’t actually like champagne or I’d be permanently drunk! The ship is very luxurious, about 1 crew member to every 2 passengers, so fantastic personal service.
At long last they have sorted out QR Covid vaccination codes for us so we can go ashore on our tours. On thé morning we were to leave, Norway decided not to accept our NHS vaccination certificates , only codes on mobile phones. So because so many passengers, like Mr A, didn’t even have a mobile, it caused a major problem and long delay in sailing. But now it’s been resolved.
Glad to hear your cruise is lovely, Archerphile and that the vaccination code problem was solved. In Italy we were sent an email which linked to a government page where the certificate with qr code could be downloaded and printed out. The alternative was to go to a chemist’s where it could be printed. I then took the certificate to a tobacconist’s shop where official documents can be photocopied and reduced in size and then sealed in plastic, the size of a credit card. I also have the qr code on my phone. At the coffee bar inside the supermarket the other day we were asked if we were sitting at a table or standing at the bar. When we said sitting we each had to show the qr code which they scanned. Masks are compulsory indoors and anywhere one is closer than two metres and schoolchildren from the age of six have to wear masks all day. So far so good. Fingers crossed.
Thank you Mrs P. with your post yesterday, about Life Lines, the drama set in an Ambulance Call Centre. On checking, I found this on my own page, on BBC Sounds. I listened to all the episodes, back to back, whilst doing house-work this morning. It was as good and perhaps, even better, than the previous series. Thank-you for pointing this out. It was so appreciated.
PS What I did today, was to change my bed but with a difference. I put on a new mattress protector, along with the equivalent pillow ones, which have bamboo in them I have also put my new duvet on the bed. It will be interesting, to see how my sleep goes tonight. What I haven't liked, is that all the "old stuff" is in the general waste bin, to end up on the landfill site... I feel guilty, but there was no other option available. 😣😨
A homeless person or a refugee, would have so appreciated the old duvet, even though, I admit, it was not now quite 100%. It was however clean with a slight tear in, but still not worthy of having to be just dumped. It is just because, it is classed as a "personal" item, so cannot be passed on. It has annoyed me.
It's a bit late for your bedding now, but your local animal shelter would probably have been happy to receive it. Ditto old towels.
Some charity shops accept worn fabrics for recycling - 'though they wouldn't have taken the duvet.
Another alternative is freecycle or freegle. If people know the bedding has been used it's their choice whether or not they'd be happy to use it. Mattresses can be passed on this way, so I don't see why not duvets.
Or you could have gutted the thing to get stuffing for cushions or pet toys.
If your new mattress protector 100% bamboo / other natural fibres? If so, at least you'll have the satisfaction of composting it when it is finally due to retire.
Did anyone see that Jacqueline Wilson has decided to update "The Railway Children "? What cheek. I am appalled. Surely she can come up with an original plot. In my opinion the children's books from yesteryear cannot be improved upon. If she tries to update Heidi, Anne of Green Gables,Ballet Shoes,A little Princess ,Tom's Midnight Garden,Carrie's War etc I will have to take action.
I so loved the original "The Secret Garden" and "Swallows and Amazons". I do not mind such wonderful.children's stories, being re-done. The proviso is:- that the original story, is not altered in any way, but these are only a better production. These should be just re-done, so they are more suitable, for viewing on the devices now available. These include:- Tablets, HD and Smart TV's, Laptops, using "players" etc and other ones, of which I have no idea. All I wish, is that the original stories are not changed. I do realise that in some books, such as Enid Blyton ones, the newer additions have had to be altered to exclude things like "slapping, golliwogs" and so on. This is very understandable.
We went to see The Railway Children enacted at York Railway Museum. All the audience were lined up on the platforms either side of the track and the engine itself made an entry at the end of each act. Just before 'Daddy, my Daddy!' all the hankies started appearing : )
Archerphile lovely to hear from you. Your trip is sounding idyllic after a false start! One of my brother in laws does not and never has owned a mobile and his wife my eldest sister only has a very basic version as does Mr R, so still many people unable to do what seems to be taken for granted in today’s society. (I have an iPhone but have not actioned the QR code but in my case it could be done) Carry on enjoying your “Golden” holiday 💕
Once again I am agreeing with you! I am annoyed that Jackie Wilson has stolen the plot of The Railway Children and she substantially changed it so why didn't she think of a new story? TRC is a lovely story with a happy ending, just because the children's father was innocent. How ever the father apparently was guilty, or so I believe, so it stops the happy ending! I'm not sure about changing stories. I did get very angry when Endeavour came on and they changed the ending of Colin Dexter's book! So we'll have to form an English Literature support group!
I had not heard this news re J Wilson ( who has always got up my nose and I don't know why ) re inventing TRC and agree..... HOW DARE SHE ! ! ! So thank you for letting me know. Spicey, I'm happy to join your club / support society when you start it up.
Miriam..... your welcome.
Hilary ........ very few jumble sales now, in fact almost as rare as hens teeth. Not just churches but schools too used to hold them. Some fetes will still have a white elephant stall, but I'm pretty sure jumble sales were usurped by car boot sales rather than charity shops. I do like the sound of your second hand markets, we could do with some of them here. Here in Stroud we have ' Vintage Mary '. V Mary has been going for many many years. She is pretty old now and just takes the money now, while younger women run the business. Last year they changed from having a row of stalls at our Friday market to having the whole market area on Monday instead. They have a large warehouse in the bowels of the ancient old town hall and its chocker block with household goods and textiles, and a team of helpers bring it all out on sale day. I'm led to believe that certain people travel from London to buy goods, and I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't resold ( at a vast increase in price) in some of those fancy London ( GGs expression - I love it ) vintage shops.
I've been to the hospital today ....... Hurrah ! I'm now on the list for surgery for my ankle. However since it was announced this week that a backlog of 5 million are waiting for surgery, I shan't be surprised if I have to wait for a couple of years before reaching the front of the queue.
The Red Arrows flew over our garden today, I’d like to claim just for me but no, it was for the first night of the IOW Festival! It was a great thrill to see them again. I still think it incredible that they can keep in such perfect formation going at those incredible speeds! Dudley didn’t like the noise and barked at them. Buddy was silent for once but afterwards needed a cuddle as he was trembling so much. The seagulls and other birds were wheeling about squawking loudly! Altogether quite a stir!
I took the runner beans down today. They have done very well and a good portion has gone into the freezer. I also dug out the courgettes which were prolific this year. Sadly the tomatoes got blight which asking around has been ubiquitous this year. Next year will invest in blight resistant seeds. They are more expensive but worth it if it averts this awful problem. 🍅🍆🍅🍆
My daughter and her friends were encouraged to read Jacqueline Wilson at school as a young teenager, she is 30 now. I read everything my children did, so as to discuss the books with them, and I never liked her books. She was very 'issue' led. I didn't ever feel that she was sympathetic to children, more that she liked to be shocking. Also, I didn't trust anything she said after claiming that the girls' magazine 'Jackie' was named after her, which was denied by the magazine themselves. Oh, I didn't realise how strongly I felt about her!!
Pleased to see MISTRAL that I'm not alone in my dislike of JW. Some of your reasons unknown to me, but agree with your thoughts. IMO she is almost responsible for issue led emotional responses from a number of young people.
And....... Daddy, my daddy......... will never be improved upon.
Re your old bedding ... duvet and pillows There is an alternative. Animal rescue, or animal hospitals / clinics. These will often take used bedding as well as used towels for sick and injured animals.
As I lived on a housing estate with many student lets, duvets were often thrown out. I would collect them, put them through the washing machine and then cut and machine them into smaller pieces for bedding for the animals using discarded duvet covers for the outside casing. At one time I kept the RSPCA Putney Animal Hospital in bedding regularly.
I don't get the impression that you own a sewing machine, but perhaps you know someone who does, or you could just offer them to your local rescue.
Archerphile. Just looking at your ship on the dock webcam. My friend looks at this webcam often and has just shown me your ship. I said I know someone on that. He couldn’t believe it!!! He says if you get off now , come to the camera and give us a wave!!!
Not only-in my opinion - should they not allow any person to steal a plot of a much loved book ,in the case of TRC they should never have tried to better the definitive version where Jenny Agutter plays the part of Bobbie. In a later version she played the mother and it was definitely not as good.
"My Daddy - My Daddy"...still get's me every time. It does not matter how often I see this, as it still makes me reach for a tissue!
Sadly there are no sightings of the Red Arrows, for me this year, as they are not using Hawarden Airport as a base. Still I have seen and heard them fly over, quite often, which is so wonderful to view.
I have been intrigued, by the posts, about how to utilise an old duvet at an animal rescue centre. Sadly I read these, after my old one went off to the landfill at 7.00am this morning! They were very early, and woke me up, after the best night's sleep that I have had, for a long while...
My most enduring recollection of TRC is the TV one with Sandra Michaels as Phyllis. I absolutely hated 'Daddy, my Daddy', because as mine had recently died I knew perfectly well that it was only in stories that fathers came back to their daughters. I have to admit to not being all that keen on JA - I've always found her delivery too 'prissy' for my taste.
I am just thinking about, doing a dash to Ambridge in time for the show 😂 My winter flowering hanging basket, planted a short while ago, is just so lovely. I bought a tray of 24 winter pansies from a local DIY store, but no idea as to colours, as were still in bud. These are just superb, they are now in flower, and are multi-coloured in many ways. I have yellow/purple --purple/white-red/white-yellow/red and others. I hope it continues to flower over the winter. Still it is a true delight, at the moment, as is my window box, which is just the same. Sadly this is too heavy to transport to Ambridge. Both the basket + box, have spring flowering bulbs planted in them also.
Sorry everyone for the silence, it’s been very difficult to get a wi fi signal in the fiords, and when I have, Google font like this particular one because its’insecure’ We are now on the way home. It’s about 3.30 am & I can’t sleep due to very rough North Sea, up & down, up & down, sideways lurch etc etc. Needless to say Mr A is totally unaffected and snoring loudly!
We had a lovely day trip in Bergen, à beautiful city with very pretty wooden houses and Hanseatic architecture. A 2 hour coach trip showed us everything worth seeing but we weren’t allowed off to walk around or even buy a postcard. It’s very frustrating. Thank you Covid!
Yesterday was again spent trying to cope with Gvt Covid restrictions as we had to apply for and complete Passenger Identification forms to be allowed back into the UK. Once again you needed a mobile to do it. Saga had produced a 14 PAGE guide on how to complete the form as it's so long and detailed! They had to provide a ‘help clinic’ for all the passengers without a phone, an entire lounge was dedicated to this and the wonderful staff (including, dancers, chefs, seamen etc) were roped in to help. Such a stressful time for elderly people withou phone, worried they might not be allowed home. I managed to do my form online, it took well over half an hour: Mr A’s had to be done by a crew member setting up a temporary email account for him on the ship & then printing off his pass. All extra work for the crew, for which they have had no training. A a big extra expense for Saga.
Then, of course, we read that in a couple of weeks time all this beaurocracy is to be ended - if only the cruise had been in Oct instead of Sept!! But we have had a lovely time despite the Covid restrictions: fantastic food, beautiful cabin, wonderful scenery and a crew who cannot do enough for you. Attractive lounges, a quiet & restful library (even if you couldn’t borrow books because of Covid), à very talented piano & string Quartet playing classical music each afternoon and big musical shows in the evenings if you like that type of entertainment.
Now I just hope this is going to post beacuse I’ve been having great difficulty, so I’ll copy in case I have to ‘paste’ when I get home. (3.50 am; wish thé sea would calm down & I could get some sleep)
What a lovely long post, Archerphile. Your long-awaited cruise sounds lovely and the crew exceptional. I hope the rough seas abated soon. I was very excited yesterday morning as I was able to buy a PRINTED PAPER English newspaper: FT Weekend!! The last time had been two years ago - the last time I was in England. A newsagent in the centre of town used to stock an English weekend newspaper - The Sunday Times or the Saturday Telegraph - but after Brexit that was no longer possible. I do read the news online but paper is another experience entirely! I was very pleasantly surprised to see how many people there were in the centre of town. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were lots of people sitting at tables outside cafés. With the pandemic much more outdoor seating has been allowed and it creates a lovely more carefree atmosphere. Yesterday Italy’s equivalent of the Red Arrows - the Freccie Tricolore - gave a display to celebrate their sixtieth anniversary I think. They produced the Italian flag (easy compared to the Union Jack!) in the shape of a rainbow.
More adventure for you Archerphile 🌊 🛳 🌊 as you head home. However your trip sounds just delightful - apart from the admin which as you say is now due to end 😡 The crew certainly deserve great praise and no maybe some (extra) grateful thanks when back to port £££ 🤗
We were asked to fill in a long questionnaire this morning, about the cruise, the ship and the staff. As it’s a brand new ship they are keen to get feedback. Needless to say I was fulsome in my praise of the crew and mentioned, by name, the two who were particularly helpful and friendly. Dock tomorrow at 7am, Covid PCR tests to be done before we disembark, should be met by car at around 8.30 and home in time for lunch (climate protesters permitting!)
Happy birthday, Sarnia! Hope you have a lovely day. If it’s a nice day you will be able to enjoy your beautiful garden. It’s nice here but there’s definitely an autumnal nip in the air which always reminds me of starting a new school year - when I was a teenager is the image that always comes into my mind’s eye. I see myself walking through the school gates!
I'm astonished to receive so many greetings! Thank you so much, all of you. It's a lovely day here, too, but after two weeks of what used to be called normality I've been too exhausted to do anything for the last few days so I really need to make an effort to get my act together, domestically speaking. I've sort of decided what to do with the front garden, which is a mess of long grass at present because nothing I've tried so far has worked. It defeated Mr S with a lifetime of wilting antirrhinums, moth-eaten French marigolds and withered lupins, so no personal blame attached. I'm trying a small trough of peat-free compost with sedum, heucheras, cyclamen hed. and a lovely little carex grass, with ivy tumbling over at each end. On the ground this will be surrounded by heather, herbs and anything else that's happy to grow in rubbish soil that gets beaten up by the morning sun. Here's hoping. Can't get going, though because Nigel's on holiday/got a recurrence of his gout!
Yes, happy birthday, Sarnia! Wishing you lots of cake!🎂
Yesterday Katy video’d a cheeky red squirrel busily looking in all the pots in the garden presumably seeking previously buried nuts! We think it is the same squirrel who tantalises Dudley by doing a can-can on top of the fence! What with that and Buddy regressing back into puppyhood by burying his treats in the troughs and pots, it’s a wonder we have any plants left! Remembering your lovely garden pictures a while ago, Sarnia, I suppose you don’t have pets or pesky squirrels around! I do love seeing them though!😊
My day has not been as productive, as I had planned. To keep a long story short, I knew my 'phone was starting to play up. It ended up with me dashing out this morning, to get a new one. This I have been setting up, all afternoon. My 'phone no. and all my data + apps. were transferred to the new one. However, I have had to re sign in to every account, to be able to use again, which has often meant re-setting passwords. Still all done - I hope! 🤞
Just to let you all know….. After all the kerfuffle about getting NHS QR codes for our shore trips in Norway, and even more concern and hard work filling in the passenger information forms to be allowed back into the UK…… Nobody in Norway, or at Dover, asked to check anything whatsoever! In Dover this morning they didn’t even look at our Passports!
We just picked up our luggage, got into our hire cars and drove home. What a farce! The whole 4 hour delay at the beginning, the anxiety, especially for older passengers without mobile phones and all that extra work for the crew and expense for Saga was a total waste of time. 😡
AP, that is all so annoying. Sometimes I think that the more means of communication we have at our disposal, the less communication there seems to be, especially in governmental matters!
Thank you one and all, I've had an unexpectedly lovely day. I had quite lost track of Nigel (which is easily done, as he is not the most consistent of people!) and thought he was still on holiday. He cleared all the overgrown grass in the front garden and prepared the bed under the window as I asked. He then helped me to install the stone trough which my s-i-l brought from Glos last Thursday and planted the heather and herbs round it for me. After a somewhat belated lunch I spent the rest of the afternoon dozing in my swing chair down in the courtyard. Tomorrow, if I can still move at all, I hope to plant up the trough, after which I will substitute my jolly little ferry indent with a pic of the new arrangement.
Thank you all so much for supplying such a lovely start to what has turned out to be a quietly happy day. BTW, I am now older than Mr S - a dubious accolade, since everyone thought he looked about 10 years older than me!
Glad to hear you have enjoyed your birthday Sarnia 🤗 and look forward to your new “post” photo. May you surpass Mr S by many years in order to enjoy your beautiful garden and to “keeeeeep blogging”!
Very glad you had a nice birthday, Sarnia. And glad bureaucracy kerfuffles are over for you, Archerphile. And thinking of bureaucracy, I mentioned getting documents photocopied in a tobacconist’s the other day. Tobacconist’s used to have the state monopoly on the sale not only of tobacco products but also of salt, cigarette lighters and matches all of which had a government seal on them and you can still buy salt there but nowadays also elsewhere. They also sell government stamps which are needed on most official documents.
Smallish Person in a Shoe has safely been delivered to university - I'm sure half the cooking equipment they considered necessary will come home unused at the end of the year! Now follows a busy fornight of freshers' events. I think after that work is supposed to happen. Smallish Person is good at understanding and ideas, less so at organisation and Getting It Down On Paper (or even On Screen). Either Smallish Person will develop a heretofore unknown efficiency, or things will get interesting... Time will tell.
Ha….when my son went to uni we did the IKEA buying trip including the student box of about 60 kitcheny items. The only things that came back were a frying pan and a Pyrex bowl he’d used for eating out of. Everything else had magically disappeared!
Thank you. My birthday meal consisted of smoked mackerel and chips so cake didn't really feature, but I don't suppose your device has a picture for that. I shall follow the career of this Smallish Person with interest! You are expert at relaying news of your younger shoe-dwellers without even revealing gender.
Very best wishes for Smallish Person in a Shoe’s university experience, OWIAS. Re cake, apparently the word cake appears in articles much more frequently than words like climate. Not liking butter I’m afraid cake is often not for me though I have discovered vegan croissants! I am going to change my profile picture to one I took yesterday to show you a golden field of rice next to the park where I walk daily. It is due for harvesting any day now. The farm belongs to a friend of mine.They also have some black rice.
My G daughter was returned to her new London flat three weeks ago by her parents. She has already returned, by train, twice since. Not sure when the actual ' learning ' started. This is her second year, third if counting foundation year at art school, and she has been the force behind finding and organising a large flat for five girls, all doing different subjects at Westminster, and as a result she gets the best room in the flat. She spent the weekend, including working through the night, on a fashion show and shoot, and was thrilled to be asked and given a merit for her attention to detail.
OwiaS - this GD was never organised nor was she keen on ' getting down to it ' but now in the throes of the world of fashion, her long time dream, 'work' seems to have become the very thing she is keen on. Despair not !
PS - as long ago as January, discovering that I could 'do' buttonholes, we agreed that I should give her a buttonhole tutorial. Due to the various disruptions of Covid this has still to happen even though arrangements were made three times. Nonetheless we are both still keen to go ahead with this project.
Mrs P. A niece of mine, who has been in fashion design for many years, is well used to arranging photo shoots etc. She always says how stressful it is, as models and photographers, are only booked for a short time, which often causes many problems. I am thrilled that your G.Daughter survived and was given a merit.👍👍
I had my 'flu vaccine this morning. I am relieved to have had it done so early. It just feels reassuring. I booked it at the pharmacy, I use. I now have a sore + swollen arm, but so worth it, which won't last long.
PS I now know how to scan in a QR code...as taught by a lovely pharmacy assistant, to do the pre vaccine questionaire.
I had mine yesterday. There was a call from the surgery to my landline on Saturday when I was out. When I followed it up yesterday I was told that it was a missed appointment by me. I had never been informed or advised of this appointment, which is why I missed it. Nobody at the surgery was aware of what had gone wrong. One of life's little mysteries. But on Saturday afternoon when walking gently along the canal, I had a strange experience which I and both daughters were sure I should see a doctor about. I thought it might possibly have been a very minor TIA. When the doctor took my obs yesterday, all of which were normal, he assured me that although he did not know what had happened, he was sure I had not had a TIA. Good news. And while with him, he gave me the flue vac that had my name on it for Saturday.
No sore arm for me Miriam and fortunately I've never had any reaction to a flue jab.
Front garden - first part complete. Haven't decided what to do with the rest yet, but at least the view from the street is respectable.
Flu jab: my appointment for last Saturday when I wasn't playing the next day) was postponed as they had no vaccine. It's been re-scheduled for October 2nd, when I have to work the next day.
Has any-one read the book, Into The Water by Paula Hawkins? I am listening to this on the radio, but when I looked into it and read some preview pages, it appeared a bit wierd + surreal. Is it worth reading? Any comments will be gratefully received.
To add. The Birthday Cake quiz, heard before TA, will not be listened to again, well by me. It was different but very bland and un-interesting. Do I care how old persons are...no..
Miriam, my brother told me he had enjoyed reading The Girl On the Train but found Hawkins’ second novel totally unreadable. And I too found The Birthday Quiz very uninteresting, despite being a fan of Richard Osman. I started listening to it this evening for the first time but turned off after five minutes.
Sarnia. I am just popping in briefly to say a very happy belated birthday wish 🎉🎂🎈and hope the following year is a good one for you. We are up in the Highlands at present, after flying to Edinburgh, and getting an internet signal has been very haphazard. Yesterday we were on a boat on Loch Ness searching for Nessie but sadly didn't find her. We travelled up on the West Highland line (which I think Lanjan once mentioned), and then later on the Harry Potter/Jacobite steam train. Was amused when the tea trolley came round selling chocolate frogs etc. Gary, stunning scenery you have up here, and hope Mr G is healing well. In Inverness now, but missing the back of beyond place in a forest we were in before. Daughter went out for a walk in the dusk and met a large antlered stag who didn't seem at all fazed by her. The kind of thing memories are made of.
Sorry ,Sarnia. Very busy yesterday.. Didn't check blog Hope you had en enjoyable birthday.
Just scrolled back. What's all this "Uni" business PtbY? Your son went to University.! Hate the word " Uni" I also hate it when children are called "kids" but then I can be a miserable old biddy at times !
Thank you all, for the Birthday Wishes. Sadly today has not been good. I had my 'flu vaccine yesterday, and I have been "poorly" all day. On talking to the Pharmacist who jabbed me, and other ex Pharmacist colleagues, the same thoughts have been said. This is that there is an in effect on the immune system, as the covid vaccine is still very active. My symptoms today, are identical to those I experienced after my 1st covid jab!
My Birthday events, sadly have been postponed and will.be re-arranged for another time.
Sorry to hear you are unwell, Miriam, and unable to celebrate your birthday. For one reason or another we seem to be getting used to delaying celebrations and other things. My first cataract op is next Thursday, 19 months on! And how long was your golden wedding cruise delayed for, Archerphile?
What a shame and a disappointment for you Miriam 😕 Will be interesting now as to how the rest of us react to our flu jabs especially those of us (not Archerphile though) who normally have no side effects from it! Mr R had no side effects whatsoever from either Pfizer jab so hope it will remain so when he has his flu jab and booster. How soon after your flu jab did you feel poorly?
Miriam, so sorry I missed your birthday yesterday. After many failed attempts to publish a greeting, I gave up! Seems to be working this morning though, so I hope you manage to enjoy a postponed celebration soon….as many of us have had to do in the past couple of years. 💐 💐
Having said I've never had a reaction to a flue jab in the past, I seem to be in the throes of a mild reaction this time. Three nights of extreme sweating, and feeling pretty groggy today. And to cap it all, a call at 2 o'clock to fit me in for my Covid booster, which I have now had. LanJan, have you had your booster yet ?
Oh dear it will be interesting to hear how we all get on with our flu jabs now Mrs P. Is there really a connection with the flu jab and the covid jabs we have in us as Miriam was told may be the case? Wow you’ve had your Covid booster as well now let us know how that reacts if at all…. My flu jab is on 9/10 and a drive through appointment as last year which went very well Mr R - different surgery 2/10. He should be hearing very soon regarding his covid booster as he was vaccinated earlier than me re the age scale rule.
It's nearly 2 am and I'm pleased to say I've had about an hour and a half sleep.
I had my booster at 3 pm. Four hours later I had just done some light hoovering and was suddenly overcome with nausea. Within minutes I had violent convulsive sickness and diarrhoea. This continued for the next four hours with intervals of about ten minutes. I had not eaten since a couple of slices of bread at around midday, so the vomiting was nothing but bile. I needed to get to bed but had to get Lady out for a wee, having decided she would have to forego her walk and her supper. A neighbour came and took her for a quick toilet stop and with considerable difficulty I gathered necessary precautions beside and within my bed. I couldn't manage a hot water bottle and it took over two hours to warm up, but fortunately the S & D ceased once i was prone. A still have a light headache but think this 'episode ' is over. I've done some reading and according to Forbes, evidence from Israel shows 7% of reactions are of S& D and most reactions over within 1-3 days.
Indeed I did ask Mrs P and so far on this blog reactions by people who previously have not had any or only slight reactions to the first 2 covid injections do not appear to be fairing so well with this years flu and covid booster jabs. It was helpful to read the time gap before your symptoms appeared as I will have a 32 mile round trip when I have my booster and want to be able to feel that I will be ok to get home…. Who is next on jab list I wonder keep us up to date and hopefully there will be some no reaction at all posts too. Certainly Mr R did not have anything at all from his 2 Covid ones yet I as the youngster of the partnership did 😡 😂
Mrs. P, I really hope you feel much better today, your symptoms sound horrible. Thank goodness your have a kind neighbour to help with Lady when needed.
I reported my Covid jab symptoms to the yellow card scheme, and also my g.p. so it was all on record. The yellow card info is not shared with your doctor. I still have occasional side effects from the first Covid jab, am not having any more, and probably will not have the flu jab either. I think there should be more info out there for older people about possible contra indications so people can make informed choices. Very glad it has been highlighted on here. Thank you to you and Miriam.
Reported to the yellow card system by phone, I couldn't face all the typing on screen that I anticipated would be required. Thanks Mistral for the info... not shared with GP. I will phone. I still have a very bad headache across my eyes, but recognise that I must be very dehydrated. I have managed two cups of tea, much less than my usual intake, and am sipping water. Have in the last hour mustered myself for a shower which has refreshed me a little but I still feel wrecked and must now get this poor doggie out.
Thank you Lady R for keeping us all on the ball. I wish all others the best when their booster is due. It will be interesting to read Miriam's comments.
So sorry about your problems with your flu and Covid jabs Mrs P, I hope that you are feeling better soon. We had our flu jabs last week with no effects whatsoever, not even a sore arm for once. Covid jab not due for another month.
So much for the bright idea of giving both at once, one in each arm! For each of my Covid jabs I've been asked if I've had any other injection in the past week. Perhaps it needs to be longer than that. Poor Mrs P.
Sorry to hear Mrs P is suffering so badly, after both jabs. I am fine now, 48hrs after my 'flu jab, except for a still very sore arm. I am not due for my covid booster, until end of November, but this will be done in a different arm..
I have just been in contact with my local council, with a complaint. It was bin day today. The first vehicle came and emptied the re-cycle bins. The second came, about 2 hours later, to do the garden ones, so I assumed. On going out, I have found that my garden bin and those of my neighbours, are still full. I immediately reported this. I have just spoken to my neighbours, as we need to leave these out, for emptying as and when...
Because we have so much garden stuff to get rid of and our 4 composting bins were so full, we decided to join our Council’s garden waste collection scheme.
So back at the end of May we paid a total of £90 for a brown bin and a year of fortnightly collections The bin didn’t arrive until first week in August. Since then we have had ONE collection! And several emails from Council apologising & saying it’s due to Covid or lack of HGV drivers or anything else they can think of. We were due a collection on Monday this week. Our bin is still standing outside waiting to be collected. The postman has to dodge round it every day. Not very good value for our £90……one bin and just one collection!
Regarding vaccinations I am so sorry to hear about the reactions some people have had. Especially Mrs P. It’s rather putting me off going for my Covid and flu vaccines. I always have a very sore arm after flu vacs, and had serious reactions after both my Pfizer ones - painful, very swollen arm with intense irritation, especially after the second one.
So, what to do? Risk having two painful, itchy, swollen arms or take a chance on getting flu or Covid? Mr A never had any reactions so he is very keen to be jabbed. I’m not so sure. 😵💫
Get the 'flu vaccine, as 'flu can be very debilitating. I remember so well, two awful bouts of this, when I was almost comatose for two days, and I was a lot younger then. Any awful side-effects, which could last for a few days, far outweigh the risks of getting ill and suffering.
I do agree with Miriam. I am still feeling pretty wrecked but keep reminding myself that I would be feeling far far worse with Covid. And..... as my daughter pointed out, the flue vaccine is designed to be far stronger this year than previously due to our collective lack of immunity because of the very low incidence of flue contagion last year.
However, although I was sick again last night having had a very small amount of scrambled egg and a meagre slice of toast, my hot bath seemed to eliminate the bruising from the previous nights retching, and lifted my headache considerably, and this morning it's still only a light headache.
Have courage, AP. Just because this happened to Mrs P doesn't mean you will be the same. I would much prefer itchy and swollen arms to being laid low for three weeks alone with flu or risk being hospitalised with Covid, which I surely would. Weigh up the alternatives.
I have a friend who was put off having her knees replaced because she didn't like the sound of the operation. Having had both knees and both hips done, I'm still living in my house and learning to manage the large garden alone, as well as coming back to organ playing after the lockdown albeit with an almighty struggle and getting very tired to start with. Meanwhile, Myrtle is in sheltered accommodation and hobbling about with a stick. She says she wishes now that she'd been more positive!
There was someone here, I think it is Lady R, who has also been viewing the BBC series "Ambulance". I watched the last episode of this, and I feel so in admiration, as to the entire ambulance service shown in such dire circumstances. This also applies to the Police, Fire-fighters etc. who provided then and still continue to do so, such essential emergency services.
Yes it’s me Miriam I have 2 to catch up with last weeks and tonight. It is a hard watch but the crews skills and compassion know no bounds and thank god for each and everyone of them 🙏
Our garden bins are emptied on recycle day and they usually come quite early in the morning so nowadays I put it out the night before as have been known to forget on the day! I pay £6 a month on DD which spreads the cost. They usually continue through the winter every fortnight. That’s awful, Miriam that yours weren’t emptied and I hope they put it right for you.
Having read some of the above tales of garden waste collection I think we are being very shabbily treated by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council £90 in May and only one collection since, (last week’s STILL not collected) is very poor service indeed. 😡
Of course! Several phone calls when we have always been told the bin will be collected within a few days. Even sent an email with a map showing the exact location of our cottage and where we put the bin. ……which, incidentally, is exactly the same place as our normal waste bins are put and which are collected weekly. It’s extremely frustrating !
I was pleased, that my notification to the council about missing garden waste collections (there were at least 4 of us), was actioned so quickly. These were emptied at 8.00am this morning.
Cheshire Cheese. I wonder if, Cheshire East will do the same as Cheshire West, with this charge?
YES ptby and so far much better than I dared to hope (as I’d gone off it a bit) I love that Tess still can’t hold contestants hands at the end of their dance it always really irked me…Could be shaping up to be a good season 🤞🏼🤗
Been out this evening but catching up on the recording which is good because I can fast forward through the boring bits! Thought Dan Walker did surprisingly well. I don’t know many of the contestants this year but expect we shall get to know them over the coming weeks
What was with strictly last night? The scores were all over the place. I think Anton is lovely as a judge. There wasn’t really a great clodhopping celeb to laugh at….no Ed Balls or Anne Widdicombe! I only know of Greg Wise. Will probably keep watching it as it’s our traditional Saturday nights viewing but I hate how it is so “woke”. Apologies to some on here in advance but I do not want to see two blokes dancing on a family show.
I thought it was much too long, so was glad I had recorded and could do some fast forwarding. I wasn’t too keen on some of the very modern music or dances. I liked Nina Wadia ( who won that Memory programme with Sandi Toksvig) and though she did marvellously for someone of her stature. Funnily enough, I thought the 2 male dancers were very good and much more enjoyable to watch than the two female dancers of last year whom I found unconvincing. The good thing for me is that the show will get a bit shorter each week as the weak contestants get weeded out!
Am I the only person who does n't watch Strictly? I watched a programme instead about Stephen Hawkin. which was extremely interesting. His first wife seemed lovely.
Hope those of you with reactions to injections soon feel better
All being well I hope to go to North Yorkshire tomorrow until Thursday .
I don’t watch Strictly either. Don’t know most of the contestants and felt it wrong way back when they got rid of Arlene in favour of Darcy as she was younger and attractive and not because of her dancing experience. We watched Beat the Chasers last night which was quite exciting!
I've not watched Strictly, nor Bake Off, Throw Down, Downton, ... No telly in this shoe : ) I think someday I shall get a box of Call the Midwife DVDs or watch it on SOiaS's Netflix. At one stage I thought I ought to get hold of Lost to see what all the fuss was about, but I heard the final episode was a disappointment so I didn't bother.
In other news, Auntie Beeb has started in-person radio recordings again! Haven't applied for any yet, but hopefully soon. It'll be good to return to the Radio Theatre after all these months.
About, of all shops, Mark and Spencer, one of our longest existing stores. About 2 - 3 years ago I bought some items of lingerie which I love and which fitted perfectly. However they have now become a bit grey & stretched with age. (Sorry Gary!) I want to buy some replacements but can’t find them in our local store or online.
I couldn’t find anywhere on their help pages where I could ask for information about whether these items are still available. So I emailed the customer help department giving the exact item code number, description, size, etc
Next day I got a reply: “We are sorry to hear you are disappointed with an item bought in our food store. I have contacted our Food Manager and the supplier, informing them of your complainant, to ensure standards are maintained and this will not happen again. If you send me your receipt I will issue a refund”…..or words to that effect. Obviously the person in Customer Services had not read my email properly
I sent another email detailing the item I am looking for again and asking for a proper and appropriate reply. This morning I got the following email reply: “We are sorry to hear you have found a fault with the knickers you bought recently. I have notified the Dept. Manager and supplier to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Please send a photo of the problem and your receipt and I will issue a refund”
I give up! And I am appalled by such hopeless Customer Service from a company like M&S.
I am ashamed on behalf of my old company Archerphile and no way to ensure my pension is secure if this is the way customers are being treated. I think you should inform the CEO 😡
I have spent many hours in the garden today. The lawns were a bit long, as were fed + weeded on Tuesday, so no cutting for at least 3 days before and after. Now I have stripes, again. The garden, is now being put to bed for the winter, slowly but surely. I took adavantage of a warm, sunny but breezing day, before Autumn starts next week, if the forecast is correct. I bit the bullet, taking out my bizzie lizzies (sadly still in flower) out of a stone tub. More bulbs were put in along with new compost, followed by loads of winter pansies. It is looking good.
Last night, with R4ex on the radio, there was a programme about radio soaps. I only heard the last 15mins, but his was an episode of TA. I am not sure from when, but Katy was just a baby, Eva the au-pair, had just arrived and Roger came to take the very young Adam + Debbie, out My comment. It was sort of interesting, but very slow and sedated. Still Phil Archer and Walter Pickles were heard.
I brought in my 5 doz pelargonium cuttings yesterday. With that and Strictly starting I know that autumn is here. Archerfile, that really is poor service from M&S.
I don't watch strictly as I don't have a television, but I have seen it from time to time at one daughter's who along with husband adores it. I don't. All that fuss and over the top stuff is a turn off for me. I loved ballroom dancing when at school in the fifties and was very good with an equally good male partner. I reacquainted myself with ballroom dancing in the early 2000s and discovered the niche of same sex ballroom. The most elegant dancing I have ever seen was in a beautiful period ballroom at the Polish Club in Kensington Gore, with two men in evening dress and tails. An exquisite moment. And although I won't be seeing it, I don't think ' Strictly' is being woke in this instance. Many families encompass happy couples, and sometimes unhappy couples of the same sex and always did. They just used to be kept hidden for everybody else's comfort. If by a ' family programme ' is meant a programme for all ages to share, then in these times most children, if not their parents or grandparents, are comfortable about the fluidity of sexuality, and accept it as normal within an inclusive society.
I don't watch the programme but it was obviously successful. Why change anything? If it ain't broke......... I am really annoyed because the Cricketing wokists are changing batsman to batter As far as I a co concerned batter is what Yorkshire pudding and pancakes are made from. Talking of Yorkshire. All being well I am meeting up with both family and friends Lady R Son is a volunteer on t he North Yorkshire Railway and is over that side of the Pennines this week.
Lovely LJ very pleased for you. Although Mr R was into most sports in his younger days including cricket (of which I understand practically nothing) I too am annoyed that batsman is to be replaced with batter what is the matter with people! What about “mankind” I bet there are some who will want that word banned next when all it means is the whole of the human race. It is enough to make one want to “give up” it really is 😡
A few years ago the PC crowd wanted to change the word manufacture because of the man bit. In fact the origin of the word is from the Latin for hand, manus. The first meaning was made by hand. You just feel like saying get a life to these ignorant people! Agree batter is a silly description!
Please note, that this is a general post only. I am getting irritated by the use of a word, now constantly creeping into the lovely english language. I see it in many places and very often, not being used correctly. This is woke....
To me, it is the past participle of wake, and only that.
This is one occasion, I cannot adapt to modern changes.
In the Navy heating was turned on on 1st October and off on 1st April. It didn’t matter how cold or warm it was at those times! I’m happy to be more flexible! My power company request monthly readings ( I have not yet got around to a smart meter!) and I have just taken gas and electricity readings finding both well under last year’s at the same time. Katy pointed out that last September was much colder as she had a picture of Buddy with his fleece on a year ago. He has been just wearing his collar and harness this year!
The main room of my cottage is below ground level, so with underfloor heating in this room the heating turns on automatically when the ground temperature reaches a certain level. The system overrides the programme to do this. Twice in the last few days the heating has come on at three in the afternoon, and it's certainly been on very early in the morning too. On overcast and chilly days throughout September I've also turned it on for a few hours to heat the cottage through.
I agree with Ev, and my bills are low enough for me to be flexible.
So far we have not had the heating on in this new house. We have had 2 fires on. One to cure the glue from re-roping the log burner door and the second just cos I fancied some flames really. We are lucky that there are 2 big windows and a patio door. So the room gets any sun all day. 🤞our fuel bills will be low.
So pleased we moved back to the town now with this fuel crisis. Yesterday I walked to the Drs and we would be able to walk to the supermarket. Archerphile…….get moving!!!!
Don’t worry PtyB. My campaign is gathering strength and gets mentioned at every opportunity! Yesterday, for example, I was listing all the things I would require in our ‘next house’. Including a built-in waist high oven so I don’t have to spend another morning squatting on the kitchen floor trying to clean the one we have…….and then needing a lot of help to get up again!
The other thing to have at eye level if possible for you is the fridge! I had a fridge freezer after we moved here and the freezer is at the bottom. It saves a lot of aching bones trying to find things in a floor level fridge!
May I add to the suggestions above. I have always had my fridge at eye level, or at the very least lifted one foot to eighteen inches off the floor. This gives the additional- admittedly low level extra cupboard space, but useful for rarely used equipment. And I would recommend a sliding door built in oven. To those unfamiliar - the door drops down and can then be used as a shelf to bring something out of the oven, but can also be slid in under the oven. I really like it. I must admit to having been incredibly fortunate in having all of my kitchens hand built, either by myself, and or with help, and once in the early seventies a super duper handbuilt outfit by a local joiner. I have also designed each of my kitchens myself. I've never had an off the shelf job although my current kitchen is a mix of some units, Howdens, and some recycled cupboards, mixed with my own innovations. The one really useful innovation for me that I've copied from a daughter is pull out retractable drawers. I have two under my oven which I had built by the carpenter into a Howdens housing unit, and two more under the sink. All of my saucepans fit into the ones under the oven. These runners for these drawers are robust and you can get / build drawers to any size. My daughter has them three and four feet long under a dresser unit and keeps all her crockery in one - full dinner set and bowls - and the other takes all basins and cooking paraphernalia.
Very pleased to hear AP that you are ramping up the ' we need to move' message. You do need to move ! Keep it up.
This is my fourth attempt at a reply! Yes Ev and Mrs P - I have a Neff slide-away door oven (as used in the Great British Bake-off) and wouldn’t be without it. So much easier to get into for lifting things in and out, and for cleaning - I just need it positioned higher up!
And yes again, Mrs P. Moving is definitely on the agenda now, even Mr A has agreed we cannot stay here for much longer, the garden is getting too much. I bring up the subject every day and have even discussed a move with the neigbours at social events so everyone is aware of our plans. The big decisions are - where to move to and what to do with this cottage. It will be difficult to sell so we have talked about renting it out and either buying or renting a smaller place with a manageable garden. In a way we’d like to keep it in the family so that eventually one of the grandchildren could have it, should they need to live in this area, or it could be sold after our deaths and form part of their inheritance.
But the most important thing is WHERE? I’d like to be away from the south-east, possibly mid or north Wales or preferably Shropshire which we have always loved. Cue, Right Move and other such websites………
Long term rentals, sounds a very good idea, and a sensible alternative. It will probably speed the move on. Shropshire/Wales border, is a lovely area as you well know.
Oops ! So you already have the Neff slide door oven. Apologies AP. Mine is at the perfect height and I've always had a gas hob.
Where to ? Is the nightmare isn't it ? And I am usually very careful with the use of that word, since most difficulties in life, however minor are described as such, and I recognise that nightmares are not usually frequent. I too didn't really know where I wanted to go when I left London seven years ago, chose Frome or Stroud to focus on - cos you have to focus on something- but do not feel that I've felt settled here, and certainly don't feel I've made a 'new life'. I had great plans to volunteer in various ways that interested me, but although I've joined organisations I haven't felt settled enough to actually sign up to any volunteering. And that's a chicken and egg situation, since had I signed up and got to know people I wouldn't feel as unsettled as I have been.
I would love to go to Shropshire or Herefordshire but feel it too far from either daughter, and I see little enough of them as it is. A small city like Truro would do me, but both daughters have deterred me from Cornwall, I suspect because they suspect that daughter may not be there for very long, given a difficult marriage. I feel very strongly, now, that I really want to be within close proximity to a major river, preferably an estuary. I came here partly to be near to the Severn, but it's not near enough, unless I want a twelve mile daily commute. Can't afford Bath, much as I'd like to. And a friend gave me a book at the weekend.... London Gardens, and boy has it made me feel homesick since, but I could never afford to return.
Good luck AP...... if you can afford to rent your cottage and still buy elsewhere, I would consider that a good option. Go and see your local estate agents, or talk to the nearest Hamptons and get advice. Due to the Covid restrictions and working from home the market has changed a great deal. Your extensive garden could probably encompass a home office - permitted development - and could then perhaps encourage a long term rental.
Thank goodness, that I still have half a tank of petrol, as my nearest petrol station was closed...run dry. What makes me cross is, did all those who bought in panic mode, actually need that fuel, at that time. It means, that those who really need fuel, are now being deprived due to the "selfishness" of so many others. This sounds harsh, but it is just how I feel.
I am now in a quandry, as to how far do I now drive and travel, as to not knowing if I can fill up, when it will be needed.
There were also a lot of shortages in the supermarket this morning, very reminiscent of the early days of Lockdown No.1..
Archerfile, I may have misremembered but I think it was you who said your recently widowed sister in law would need to move from her large house (old rectory?) Maybe she and you and your husband could move to somewhere close to each other in Wales or Shropshire.
Yes, you are quite right Janice. It was Mr A’s sister Ros who lost her husband very recently. And living somewhere not to far from her would suit me very well. Not that we are particularly close, she has always been very indépendant and not a home or family maker like me. But the area she lives in, near Montgomery and Powys, is beautiful. Her main shopping venues are Newtown for food and general shopping and Shrewsbury for a good day out. I really fancy being on the edge of a small country town like Newtown or perhaps Ludlow or Leominster if we could afford it!
The other factor is family, of course. As our son & his family live in France we can only see them occasionally, and not for the past 2 years, though I hope that will be rectified soon. But our daughter, who currently lives quite near us, will be moving within the next 2 -3 years when her youngest has finished school. They want to move further north to be closer to a main canal network in order to use their narrow boat much more. So they are thinking of the Bedford, Northampton, or Warwick countryside or perhaps even north Shropshire or Cheshire. I certainly don’t want to follow them too closely, but don’t really want to be hundreds of miles away either. Lots of thinking to be done!
What a very rainy, wet and cold morning. Summer has definitely gone. My newly planted stone tub. had to be re-planted last night. I thought a cat, probably mine, used it as a litter tray so the new winter pansies were scrabbled up, along with some bulbs. How wrong was I. A squirell has just appeared and started digging into it. I chased it off, for the time being.
Also for Gary - your fellow competitor in The Archers Quiz, Chris Aldridge left the BBC today, the news programme ending a few minutes ago had a tribute from Jolene :) (I think it was The World Tonight)
*** FROM PREVIOUS BLOG ***
ReplyDeleteZoetrope - September 14, 2021 at 8:01 PM
Ooh Miriam, I've never seen porcini stock cubes. Where do you get them? They sound delicious.
Spicycushion - September 14, 2021 at 8:45 PM
PTBY - I too had mushroom risotto tonight.
One night when I don't have to cook two meals; one meat for Jon and one vege for me !
Ev - September 14, 2021 at 9:12 PM
We usually have a veg meal once a week on a Monday but yesterday did sneak in a bit of streaky bacon! I did a fennel, chestnut mushroom and tomato sauce with pasta. We have fish on a Friday, a habit more than a religious reason. The rest of the week depends on inspiration and availability of ingredients! I have a nice recipe for chicken and mushroom risotto. It’s easy to cook and just uses one pan - a wok. We got into using them when we lived in Hong Kong. They are very practical and as you can toss the food around you need less oil. 😊🥢🥢
Mistral - September 14, 2021 at 9:00 PM
I made a Lancashire hotpot an hour ago, but forgot it takes 2.5 hrs to cook, so desperate to avoid beans on toast, have made cheese soup, my favourite, and microwave sponge pudding, using as a base some marmalade that had been soaking in gin since last October.
I love winter food.
Ev - September 15, 2021 at 9:26 AM
Hotpot! Something to look forward to tonight, Mistral? You are just like me in not taking cooking time into consideration! It will be well marinated for today though!
It was delicious, thank you,!
DeleteMistral, I love winter food too. I love making it and I love scoffing it.
ReplyDeleteMe too... Neeps + Tatties, certainly spring to mind.
DeleteI do love a red cabbage/apple concoction..
Just flagging up -
ReplyDelete'the girl who answers the phone for the ambulance service '
is back on radio 4 this afternoon.
Can't remember who it was that enjoyed this series as well as me.
It's Life Lines.
DeleteI wonder if it is a repeat or a new series?
I still have all the series + their episodes, which have been broadcast to date, downloaded.
I also have all the Clare in the Community episodes, from all the 12 series downloaded. I am up to series 7, but I still laugh out loud. It is my silly sense of humour..😂
Mrs P.
DeleteIt is me, who has also, just loved this radio programme.
I have been watching the TV series "Ambulance", filmed in the pandemic in Jan/Feb this year, 2021. This showed the control room and ambulance crews, really struggling.
I felt quite humble, watching how they tried to cope.
Thanks Miriam
DeleteI agree Miriam “ Ambulance” during the pandemic should be compulsory viewing my thanks and admiration knows no bounds. Also at the height of the pandemic the 2 specials made in a hospital surreal to say the least! God bless them all 🙏🏼
DeleteLady R.
DeleteMy heart went out to all who appeared in "Ambulance" esp. at the end, when it was learnt, what happened to those shown.
One thing, which certainly opened my eyes, was those with mental health problems and how well they were treated and counceled, by the special crew.
As for the "clothes" donation ..words fail me.
I enjoyed Life Lines too, I shall look it up on Sounds.
DeleteWe went to a couple of recordings of Clare in the Community, when you were still allowed to do such things ... Actually, they were the final episodes to be recorded although, just to be confusing, they weren't actually the final episodes of the series.
Another series I loved was Curious Under the Stars, very Dylan Thomas-y. I wasn't quite sure about the latest and final series though - it all got a bit too 'meta' for me.
Loved Clare in the Community..... wonderful !
DeleteBut can't wait to get to the ' off ' button for that Welsh ' nonsense '
As Miriam like to say.... we are all different.
Zoetrope.
ReplyDeleteTo reply. My porcini mushroom stock cubes have only ever been bought in Italy. My two last packets, which are now well out-of-date, were bought in Sicily, in 2015. I wandered off to a nearby alimentari, to buy them.
TBH They are fine, and do make a great difference to risotto's, pasta dishes etc.
There is a new Italian Alimentari in town, run by an Italian family. I will be making a visit, soon.
DeleteThank you Miriam. I think we have what might be an Alimentari not far from me (well, an Italian specialist food shop 🤔) . I may visit it soon for the first time.
DeleteI have made a massive clothes donation, which were all of good quality, into the Oxfam bins recently. I just hope that they will go to, those in true need for whatever reason, due to many unfortunate circumstances.
ReplyDeleteAt least I have tried to make a difference 🤷♀️
Well done Miriam, they'll either go directly to people who need them or into the shops to raise funds to help people.
DeleteMy Granny and Great-Aunt were involved with Oxfam for years. They invited Mary Wilson to open their local shop, she agreed, providing she could bring her husband along. Apparently, after the ceremony Harold Wilson sat in my Great-Aunt's sitting room and smoked cigars.
Granny was good at picking up bargains for me but I learnt the hard way as a child not to admit to wearing second hand clothes from Oxfam. Now, of course, it's fashionable and green - Granny and I were just several years ahead of the curve : )
Being a wartime child I was always used to wearing second hand clothes and later as a teenager embraced vintage, just one step further back.
DeleteI had a special lady, Francis, in Portabello and another in Shepherds Bush Market, who would both hold particular pieces for me, and still possess many of my vintage finds.
I had no problem in dressing my daughters from charity shops and school sales, but my eldest utterly refused to wear second hand clothes but my youngest was very happy to do so.
That daughters daughters (?) also now, happily embrace second hand.
The eldest daughter now embraces eBay !
What's the difference I wonder ?
I wonder, do churches still have jumble sales? And schools and hospitals used to hold fetes with second-hand and white elephant stalls. That was in the days before charity shops I suppose.
ReplyDeleteThere was never anything similar in Italy and the only charity shops I am aware of are for example Unicef, selling their own products. There are however second-hand markets which are run for profit. If they agree to take what you take to them, you state the price you want it to be displayed at and when it is sold 50% goes to you and 50 to the market. They are very popular.
After disastrous start to our cruise we are now very comfortably established on board. Currently sailing up Geiranger Fiord, the longest in Norway. It will take all day to get to the end. Sitting in a beautiful panoramic lounge sipping cappuccinos and enjoying the views.
ReplyDeleteAm eating (and drinking) far too much! We are constantly being plied with wonderful meals, all day buffets and snacks. Champagne seems to be brought around on the slimmest of excuses so it’s a good job I don’t actually like champagne or I’d be permanently drunk! The ship is very luxurious, about 1 crew member to every 2 passengers, so fantastic personal service.
At long last they have sorted out QR Covid vaccination codes for us so we can go ashore on our tours. On thé morning we were to leave, Norway decided not to accept our NHS vaccination certificates , only codes on mobile phones. So because so many passengers, like Mr A, didn’t even have a mobile, it caused a major problem and long delay in sailing. But now it’s been resolved.
Now you both can relax, and just enjoy your 50th Anniversary, as it should have happened.
DeleteBetter late than never, so make up for lost time. 😆🥂 🍺🍽🍹🍨🍰🛳
What a nightmare Archerphile, but it sounds lovely now.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy your holiday, I love Norway and hope to visit again in the future.
Glad to hear your cruise is lovely, Archerphile and that the vaccination code problem was solved.
ReplyDeleteIn Italy we were sent an email which linked to a government page where the certificate with qr code could be downloaded and printed out. The alternative was to go to a chemist’s where it could be printed. I then took the certificate to a tobacconist’s shop where official documents can be photocopied and reduced in size and then sealed in plastic, the size of a credit card. I also have the qr code on my phone. At the coffee bar inside the supermarket the other day we were asked if we were sitting at a table or standing at the bar. When we said sitting we each had to show the qr code which they scanned. Masks are compulsory indoors and anywhere one is closer than two metres and schoolchildren from the age of six have to wear masks all day. So far so good. Fingers crossed.
That sounds so well organised and easy to do, to suit every-one.
DeleteIt must be quite reassuring.
Thank you Mrs P. with your post yesterday, about Life Lines, the drama set in an Ambulance Call Centre.
ReplyDeleteOn checking, I found this on my own page, on BBC Sounds.
I listened to all the episodes, back to back, whilst doing house-work this morning.
It was as good and perhaps, even better, than the previous series.
Thank-you for pointing this out. It was so appreciated.
PS What I did today, was to change my bed but with a difference.
DeleteI put on a new mattress protector, along with the equivalent pillow ones, which have bamboo in them
I have also put my new duvet on the bed.
It will be interesting, to see how my sleep goes tonight.
What I haven't liked, is that all the "old stuff" is in the general waste bin, to end up on the landfill site...
I feel guilty, but there was no other option available. 😣😨
A homeless person or a refugee, would have so appreciated the old duvet, even though, I admit, it was not now quite 100%. It was however clean with a slight tear in, but still not worthy of having to be just dumped.
DeleteIt is just because, it is classed as a "personal" item, so cannot be passed on.
It has annoyed me.
It's a bit late for your bedding now, but your local animal shelter would probably have been happy to receive it. Ditto old towels.
DeleteSome charity shops accept worn fabrics for recycling - 'though they wouldn't have taken the duvet.
Another alternative is freecycle or freegle. If people know the bedding has been used it's their choice whether or not they'd be happy to use it. Mattresses can be passed on this way, so I don't see why not duvets.
Or you could have gutted the thing to get stuffing for cushions or pet toys.
If your new mattress protector 100% bamboo / other natural fibres? If so, at least you'll have the satisfaction of composting it when it is finally due to retire.
Sleep well : )
Did anyone see that Jacqueline Wilson has decided to update "The Railway Children "?
ReplyDeleteWhat cheek.
I am appalled.
Surely she can come up with an original plot.
In my opinion the children's books from yesteryear cannot be improved upon.
If she tries to update Heidi, Anne of Green Gables,Ballet Shoes,A little Princess ,Tom's Midnight Garden,Carrie's War etc I will have to take action.
I so loved the original "The Secret Garden" and "Swallows and Amazons".
DeleteI do not mind such wonderful.children's stories, being re-done. The proviso is:- that the original story, is not altered in any way, but these are only a better production. These should be just re-done, so they are more suitable, for viewing on the devices now available. These include:-
Tablets, HD and Smart TV's, Laptops, using "players" etc
and other ones, of which I have no idea.
All I wish, is that the original stories are not changed.
I do realise that in some books, such as Enid Blyton ones, the newer additions have had to be altered to exclude things like "slapping, golliwogs" and so on.
This is very understandable.
We went to see The Railway Children enacted at York Railway Museum. All the audience were lined up on the platforms either side of the track and the engine itself made an entry at the end of each act. Just before 'Daddy, my Daddy!' all the hankies started appearing : )
DeleteAPOLIGIES TO YOU ALL.
ReplyDeleteI have been far too vocal this evening, with my silly witterings, which just go on + on...😣😭😭 ❌❌
Archerphile lovely to hear from you. Your trip is sounding idyllic after a false start! One of my brother in laws does not and never has owned a mobile and his wife my eldest sister only has a very basic version as does Mr R, so still many people unable to do what seems to be taken for granted in today’s society. (I have an iPhone but have not actioned the QR code but in my case it could be done)
ReplyDeleteCarry on enjoying your “Golden” holiday 💕
Miriam,Jacqueline Wilson has stolen the plot of The Railway Children ,added and subtracted from it and set the story in the 21st Century.
ReplyDeleteDreadful .
Once again I am agreeing with you! I am annoyed that Jackie Wilson has stolen the plot of The Railway Children and she substantially changed it so why didn't she think of a new story? TRC is a lovely story with a happy ending, just because the children's father was innocent. How ever the father apparently was guilty, or so I believe, so it stops the happy ending! I'm not sure about changing stories. I did get very angry when Endeavour came on and they changed the ending of Colin Dexter's book! So we'll have to form an English Literature support group!
DeleteI had not heard this news re J Wilson ( who has always got up my nose and I don't know why ) re inventing TRC and agree..... HOW DARE SHE ! ! !
DeleteSo thank you for letting me know.
Spicey, I'm happy to join your club / support society when you start it up.
Miriam..... your welcome.
Hilary ........ very few jumble sales now, in fact almost as rare as hens teeth.
Not just churches but schools too used to hold them. Some fetes will still have a white elephant stall, but I'm pretty sure jumble sales were usurped by car boot sales rather than charity shops.
I do like the sound of your second hand markets, we could do with some of them here.
Here in Stroud we have ' Vintage Mary '.
V Mary has been going for many many years. She is pretty old now and just takes the money now, while younger women run the business.
Last year they changed from having a row of stalls at our Friday market to having the whole market area on Monday instead.
They have a large warehouse in the bowels of the ancient old town hall and its chocker block with household goods and textiles, and a team of helpers bring it all out on sale day. I'm led to believe that certain people travel from London to buy goods, and I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't resold ( at a vast increase in price) in some of those fancy London ( GGs expression - I love it ) vintage shops.
I've been to the hospital today .......
Hurrah !
I'm now on the list for surgery for my ankle.
However since it was announced this week that a backlog of 5 million are waiting for surgery, I shan't be surprised if I have to wait for a couple of years before reaching the front of the queue.
The Red Arrows flew over our garden today, I’d like to claim just for me but no, it was for the first night of the IOW Festival! It was a great thrill to see them again. I still think it incredible that they can keep in such perfect formation going at those incredible speeds! Dudley didn’t like the noise and barked at them. Buddy was silent for once but afterwards needed a cuddle as he was trembling so much. The seagulls and other birds were wheeling about squawking loudly! Altogether quite a stir!
ReplyDeleteI took the runner beans down today. They have done very well and a good portion has gone into the freezer. I also dug out the courgettes which were prolific this year. Sadly the tomatoes got blight which asking around has been ubiquitous this year. Next year will invest in blight resistant seeds. They are more expensive but worth it if it averts this awful problem. 🍅🍆🍅🍆
My daughter and her friends were encouraged to read Jacqueline Wilson at school as a young teenager, she is 30 now. I read everything my children did, so as to discuss the books with them, and I never liked her books. She was very 'issue' led. I didn't ever feel that she was sympathetic to children, more that she liked to be shocking.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I didn't trust anything she said after claiming that the girls' magazine 'Jackie' was named after her, which was denied by the magazine themselves.
Oh, I didn't realise how strongly I felt about her!!
Pleased to see MISTRAL that I'm not alone in my dislike of JW.
DeleteSome of your reasons unknown to me, but agree with your thoughts.
IMO she is almost responsible for issue led emotional responses from a number of young people.
And....... Daddy, my daddy......... will never be improved upon.
How could anyone improve upon 'Daddy, my Daddy'......
ReplyDeleteMiriam
ReplyDeleteRe your old bedding ... duvet and pillows
There is an alternative.
Animal rescue, or animal hospitals / clinics.
These will often take used bedding as well as used towels for sick and injured animals.
As I lived on a housing estate with many student lets, duvets were often thrown out.
I would collect them, put them through the washing machine and then cut and machine them into smaller pieces for bedding for the animals using discarded duvet covers for the outside casing.
At one time I kept the RSPCA Putney Animal Hospital in bedding regularly.
I don't get the impression that you own a sewing machine, but perhaps you know someone who does, or you could just offer them to your local rescue.
Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteJust looking at your ship on the dock webcam. My friend looks at this webcam often and has just shown me your ship. I said I know someone on that. He couldn’t believe it!!! He says if you get off now , come to the camera and give us a wave!!!
Not only-in my opinion - should they not allow any person to steal a plot of a much loved book ,in the case of TRC they should never have tried to better the definitive version where Jenny Agutter plays the part of Bobbie.
ReplyDeleteIn a later version she played the mother and it was definitely not as good.
"My Daddy - My Daddy"...still get's me every time. It does not matter how often I see this, as it still makes me reach for a tissue!
ReplyDeleteSadly there are no sightings of the Red Arrows, for me this year, as they are not using Hawarden Airport as a base. Still I have seen and heard them fly over, quite often, which is so wonderful to view.
I have been intrigued, by the posts, about how to utilise an old duvet at an animal rescue centre. Sadly I read these, after my old one went off to the landfill at 7.00am this morning!
They were very early, and woke me up, after the best night's sleep that I have had, for a long while...
...and pusscat was curled up asleep, very close by, also enjoying the new duvet...
Delete😸😻
PS I do still have a sewing machine...
DeleteMy most enduring recollection of TRC is the TV one with Sandra Michaels as Phyllis. I absolutely hated 'Daddy, my Daddy', because as mine had recently died I knew perfectly well that it was only in stories that fathers came back to their daughters. I have to admit to not being all that keen on JA - I've always found her delivery too 'prissy' for my taste.
ReplyDeleteNever seen the railway children. Doesn’t sound like my cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteI understand, that each have their own views about this film.
DeleteTo me it is, a now true classic, with a lovely "feel good factor".
I still give it 5⭐⭐
....but not if you are a small girl whose father can never come back!
DeleteI am just thinking about, doing a dash to Ambridge in time for the show 😂
ReplyDeleteMy winter flowering hanging basket, planted a short while ago, is just so lovely.
I bought a tray of 24 winter pansies from a local DIY store, but no idea as to colours, as were still in bud.
These are just superb, they are now in flower, and are multi-coloured in many ways. I have yellow/purple --purple/white-red/white-yellow/red and others.
I hope it continues to flower over the winter. Still it is a true delight, at the moment, as is my window box, which is just the same. Sadly this is too heavy to transport to Ambridge.
Both the basket + box, have spring flowering bulbs planted in them also.
I just love the pansy "faces"....
DeleteMe too Miriam !
DeleteOne of my nicest projects was the Elizabeth Bradley Pansey tapestry that my daughters gave me for my 60th.
Intruder alert
ReplyDeleteStranger, begone..!
DeleteSorry everyone for the silence, it’s been very difficult to get a wi fi signal in the fiords, and when I have, Google font like this particular one because its’insecure’
ReplyDeleteWe are now on the way home.
It’s about 3.30 am & I can’t sleep due to very rough North Sea, up & down, up & down, sideways lurch etc etc. Needless to say Mr A is totally unaffected and snoring loudly!
We had a lovely day trip in Bergen, à beautiful city with very pretty wooden houses and Hanseatic architecture. A 2 hour coach trip showed us everything worth seeing but we weren’t allowed off to walk around or even buy a postcard. It’s very frustrating. Thank you Covid!
Yesterday was again spent trying to cope with Gvt Covid restrictions as we had to apply for and complete Passenger Identification forms to be allowed back into the UK. Once again you needed a mobile to do it. Saga had produced a 14 PAGE guide on how to complete the form as it's so long and detailed! They had to provide a ‘help clinic’ for all the passengers without a phone, an entire lounge was dedicated to this and the wonderful staff (including, dancers, chefs, seamen etc) were roped in to help. Such a stressful time for elderly people withou phone, worried they might not be allowed home.
I managed to do my form online, it took well over half an hour: Mr A’s had to be done by a crew member setting up a temporary email account for him on the ship & then printing off his pass.
All extra work for the crew, for which they have had no training. A a big extra expense for Saga.
Then, of course, we read that in a couple of weeks time all this beaurocracy is to be ended - if only the cruise had been in Oct instead of Sept!!
But we have had a lovely time despite the Covid restrictions: fantastic food, beautiful cabin, wonderful scenery and a crew who cannot do enough for you. Attractive lounges, a quiet & restful library (even if you couldn’t borrow books because of Covid), à very talented piano & string Quartet playing classical music each afternoon and big musical shows in the evenings if you like that type of entertainment.
Now I just hope this is going to post beacuse I’ve been having great difficulty, so I’ll copy in case I have to ‘paste’ when I get home.
(3.50 am; wish thé sea would calm down & I could get some sleep)
What a lovely long post, Archerphile. Your long-awaited cruise sounds lovely and the crew exceptional. I hope the rough seas abated soon.
ReplyDeleteI was very excited yesterday morning as I was able to buy a PRINTED PAPER English newspaper: FT Weekend!! The last time had been two years ago - the last time I was in England. A newsagent in the centre of town used to stock an English weekend newspaper - The Sunday Times or the Saturday Telegraph - but after Brexit that was no longer possible. I do read the news online but paper is another experience entirely!
I was very pleasantly surprised to see how many people there were in the centre of town. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were lots of people sitting at tables outside cafés. With the pandemic much more outdoor seating has been allowed and it creates a lovely more carefree atmosphere.
Yesterday Italy’s equivalent of the Red Arrows - the Freccie Tricolore - gave a display to celebrate their sixtieth anniversary I think. They produced the Italian flag (easy compared to the Union Jack!) in the shape of a rainbow.
More adventure for you Archerphile 🌊 🛳 🌊 as you head home. However your trip sounds just delightful - apart from the admin which as you say is now due to end 😡
ReplyDeleteThe crew certainly deserve great praise and no maybe some (extra) grateful thanks when back to port £££ 🤗
Drop the no on the last line 🙄
DeleteWe were asked to fill in a long questionnaire this morning, about the cruise, the ship and the staff.
ReplyDeleteAs it’s a brand new ship they are keen to get feedback.
Needless to say I was fulsome in my praise of the crew and mentioned, by name, the two who were particularly helpful and friendly.
Dock tomorrow at 7am, Covid PCR tests to be done before we disembark, should be met by car at around 8.30 and home in time for lunch (climate protesters permitting!)
🇬🇧 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Archerphile and (🤞🏼 you escape protesters)
DeleteSARNIA 🎂 🎁 🎉 🍷 “Happy Birthday “
ReplyDeleteAny plans for today or just a relaxing time shared with us here on the blog 🤗 ?
Oh, happy, happy, happy Birthday Dear Sarnia
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day
💐 🎂 🎁
Happy birthday, Sarnia! Hope you have a lovely day. If it’s a nice day you will be able to enjoy your beautiful garden.
ReplyDeleteIt’s nice here but there’s definitely an autumnal nip in the air which always reminds me of starting a new school year - when I was a teenager is the image that always comes into my mind’s eye. I see myself walking through the school gates!
Happy birthday to you
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Sarnia
Happy birthday to you
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Have a lovely day. 🫖🎂💐
Ah, home again! Just waiting to disembark in Dover.
ReplyDeleteFirst thing to do after getting home will be a trip to Sainsburys
Nothing changes!
I'm astonished to receive so many greetings! Thank you so much, all of you. It's a lovely day here, too, but after two weeks of what used to be called normality I've been too exhausted to do anything for the last few days so I really need to make an effort to get my act together, domestically speaking.
ReplyDeleteI've sort of decided what to do with the front garden, which is a mess of long grass at present because nothing I've tried so far has worked. It defeated Mr S with a lifetime of wilting antirrhinums, moth-eaten French marigolds and withered lupins, so no personal blame attached. I'm trying a small trough of peat-free compost with sedum, heucheras, cyclamen hed. and a lovely little carex grass, with ivy tumbling over at each end. On the ground this will be surrounded by heather, herbs and anything else that's happy to grow in rubbish soil that gets beaten up by the morning sun. Here's hoping. Can't get going, though because Nigel's on holiday/got a recurrence of his gout!
Speaking of whom - just had a phone call from Nigel, who will be here in half an hour, so that sorts that one out!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Sarnia.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your day, whatever you do, or don't do.
Yes, happy birthday, Sarnia! Wishing you lots of cake!🎂
ReplyDeleteYesterday Katy video’d a cheeky red squirrel busily looking in all the pots in the garden presumably seeking previously buried nuts! We think it is the same squirrel who tantalises Dudley by doing a can-can on top of the fence! What with that and Buddy regressing back into puppyhood by burying his treats in the troughs and pots, it’s a wonder we have any plants left! Remembering your lovely garden pictures a while ago, Sarnia, I suppose you don’t have pets or pesky squirrels around! I do love seeing them though!😊
Happy Birthday Sarnia.
ReplyDeleteI so you are having a wonderful day....🍰🍾🍽
My day has not been as productive, as I had planned.
ReplyDeleteTo keep a long story short, I knew my 'phone was starting to play up.
It ended up with me dashing out this morning, to get a new one.
This I have been setting up, all afternoon. My 'phone no. and all my data + apps. were transferred to the new one.
However, I have had to re sign in to every account, to be able to use again, which has often meant re-setting passwords.
Still all done - I hope! 🤞
I had to reset here as well, but it has worked. I am now using a different e-mail account, which is why there is now a picture of my cat.
DeleteJust to let you all know…..
ReplyDeleteAfter all the kerfuffle about getting NHS QR codes for our shore trips in Norway,
and even more concern and hard work filling in the passenger information forms to be allowed back into the UK……
Nobody in Norway, or at Dover, asked to check anything whatsoever!
In Dover this morning they didn’t even look at our Passports!
We just picked up our luggage, got into our hire cars and drove home.
What a farce!
The whole 4 hour delay at the beginning, the anxiety, especially for older passengers without mobile phones and all that extra work for the crew and expense for Saga was a total waste of time.
😡
That’s just bl**dy awful Archerphile 😡
DeleteAP, that is all so annoying. Sometimes I think that the more means of communication we have at our disposal, the less communication there seems to be, especially in governmental matters!
ReplyDeleteThank you one and all, I've had an unexpectedly lovely day. I had quite lost track of Nigel (which is easily done, as he is not the most consistent of people!) and thought he was still on holiday. He cleared all the overgrown grass in the front garden and prepared the bed under the window as I asked. He then helped me to install the stone trough which my s-i-l brought from Glos last Thursday and planted the heather and herbs round it for me. After a somewhat belated lunch I spent the rest of the afternoon dozing in my swing chair down in the courtyard. Tomorrow, if I can still move at all, I hope to plant up the trough, after which I will substitute my jolly little ferry indent with a pic of the new arrangement.
Thank you all so much for supplying such a lovely start to what has turned out to be a quietly happy day. BTW, I am now older than Mr S - a dubious accolade, since everyone thought he looked about 10 years older than me!
ident, not indent.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you have enjoyed your birthday Sarnia 🤗 and look forward to your new “post” photo. May you surpass Mr S by many years in order to enjoy your beautiful garden and to “keeeeeep blogging”!
DeleteVery glad you had a nice birthday, Sarnia.
ReplyDeleteAnd glad bureaucracy kerfuffles are over for you, Archerphile.
And thinking of bureaucracy, I mentioned getting documents photocopied in a tobacconist’s the other day. Tobacconist’s used to have the state monopoly on the sale not only of tobacco products but also of salt, cigarette lighters and matches all of which had a government seal on them and you can still buy salt there but nowadays also elsewhere. They also sell government stamps which are needed on most official documents.
Goodness Hilary! I thought France was bad enough for bureaucracy but it seems Italy is even worse!
DeleteSarnia, happy belated birthday wishes 🎉
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Sarnia : ) 🎂
ReplyDeleteSmallish Person in a Shoe has safely been delivered to university - I'm sure half the cooking equipment they considered necessary will come home unused at the end of the year! Now follows a busy fornight of freshers' events. I think after that work is supposed to happen. Smallish Person is good at understanding and ideas, less so at organisation and Getting It Down On Paper (or even On Screen). Either Smallish Person will develop a heretofore unknown efficiency, or things will get interesting... Time will tell.
Ha….when my son went to uni we did the IKEA buying trip including the student box of about 60 kitcheny items. The only things that came back were a frying pan and a Pyrex bowl he’d used for eating out of. Everything else had magically disappeared!
DeleteThank you. My birthday meal consisted of smoked mackerel and chips so cake didn't really feature, but I don't suppose your device has a picture for that.
ReplyDeleteI shall follow the career of this Smallish Person with interest! You are expert at relaying news of your younger shoe-dwellers without even revealing gender.
Hmmm hadn’t really cottoned onto that one Sarnia I have always assumed “shoe” daughters maybe because we were a family of 3 girls….
DeleteVery best wishes for Smallish Person in a Shoe’s university experience, OWIAS.
ReplyDeleteRe cake, apparently the word cake appears in articles much more frequently than words like climate. Not liking butter I’m afraid cake is often not for me though I have discovered vegan croissants!
I am going to change my profile picture to one I took yesterday to show you a golden field of rice next to the park where I walk daily. It is due for harvesting any day now. The farm belongs to a friend of mine.They also have some black rice.
My G daughter was returned to her new London flat three weeks ago by her parents.
ReplyDeleteShe has already returned, by train, twice since.
Not sure when the actual ' learning ' started.
This is her second year, third if counting foundation year at art school, and she has been the force behind finding and organising a large flat for five girls, all doing different subjects at Westminster, and as a result she gets the best room in the flat.
She spent the weekend, including working through the night, on a fashion show and shoot, and was thrilled to be asked and given a merit for her attention to detail.
OwiaS -
this GD was never organised nor was she keen on ' getting down to it ' but now in the throes of the world of fashion, her long time dream, 'work' seems to have become the very thing she is keen on.
Despair not !
PS - as long ago as January, discovering that I could 'do' buttonholes, we agreed that I should give her a buttonhole tutorial. Due to the various disruptions of Covid this has still to happen even though arrangements were made three times.
Nonetheless we are both still keen to go ahead with this project.
Mrs P. A niece of mine, who has been in fashion design for many years, is well used to arranging photo shoots etc.
DeleteShe always says how stressful it is, as models and photographers, are only booked for a short time, which often causes many problems.
I am thrilled that your G.Daughter survived and was given a merit.👍👍
I had my 'flu vaccine this morning. I am relieved to have had it done so early. It just feels reassuring.
ReplyDeleteI booked it at the pharmacy, I use.
I now have a sore + swollen arm, but so worth it, which won't last long.
PS I now know how to scan in a QR code...as taught by a lovely pharmacy assistant, to do the pre vaccine questionaire.
I had mine yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThere was a call from the surgery to my landline on Saturday when I was out.
When I followed it up yesterday I was told that it was a missed appointment by me.
I had never been informed or advised of this appointment, which is why I missed it.
Nobody at the surgery was aware of what had gone wrong.
One of life's little mysteries.
But on Saturday afternoon when walking gently along the canal, I had a strange experience which I and both daughters were sure I should see a doctor about.
I thought it might possibly have been a very minor TIA.
When the doctor took my obs yesterday, all of which were normal, he assured me that although he did not know what had happened, he was sure I had not had a TIA.
Good news.
And while with him, he gave me the flue vac that had my name on it for Saturday.
No sore arm for me Miriam and fortunately I've never had any reaction to a flue jab.
No matter what jab I have, the site always swells up.
DeleteMy arm is now like a "hot baked potatoe" but it won't last long, of that I am sure. 😄
Front garden - first part complete. Haven't decided what to do with the rest yet, but at least the view from the street is respectable.
ReplyDeleteFlu jab: my appointment for last Saturday when I wasn't playing the next day) was postponed as they had no vaccine. It's been re-scheduled for October 2nd, when I have to work the next day.
Very attractive Sarnia - thanks for photo 🤗
DeleteHas any-one read the book, Into The Water by Paula Hawkins?
ReplyDeleteI am listening to this on the radio, but when I looked into it and read some preview pages, it appeared a bit wierd + surreal. Is it worth reading?
Any comments will be gratefully received.
I enjoyed Lady on a Train, though.
DeleteTo add. The Birthday Cake quiz, heard before TA, will not be listened to again, well by me. It was different but very bland and un-interesting. Do I care how old persons are...no..
DeleteMiriam, my brother told me he had enjoyed reading The Girl On the Train but found Hawkins’ second novel totally unreadable.
DeleteAnd I too found The Birthday Quiz very uninteresting, despite being a fan of Richard Osman. I started listening to it this evening for the first time but turned off after five minutes.
Sarnia. I am just popping in briefly to say a very happy belated birthday wish 🎉🎂🎈and hope the following year is a good one for you. We are up in the Highlands at present, after flying to Edinburgh, and getting an internet signal has been very haphazard. Yesterday we were on a boat on Loch Ness searching for Nessie but sadly didn't find her. We travelled up on the West Highland line (which I think Lanjan once mentioned), and then later on the Harry Potter/Jacobite steam train. Was amused when the tea trolley came round selling chocolate frogs etc.
ReplyDeleteGary, stunning scenery you have up here, and hope Mr G is healing well.
In Inverness now, but missing the back of beyond place in a forest we were in before. Daughter went out for a walk in the dusk and met a large antlered stag who didn't seem at all fazed by her. The kind of thing memories are made of.
❤️
DeleteMIRIAM “Happy Bithday” 🎉 🍷 🎂 are you off to your favourite Zoo today or do you have other plans? Either way enjoy 🤗
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to you
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Miriam
Happy birthday to you
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Be thankful that it’s on here and I’m not actually singing it!!! 🤭🎂🍾
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIRIAM
ReplyDeletehave a lovely day, meeting family members or a visit to your ZOO or just spending time in your garden.
Happy birthday, Miriam. Hope you have a lovely day.
ReplyDeleteHope the weather is as good on the Wirral as it is here and tha5 you are having a very enjoyable day Miriam.
ReplyDeleteSorry ,Sarnia.
ReplyDeleteVery busy yesterday..
Didn't check blog
Hope you had en enjoyable birthday.
Just scrolled back.
What's all this "Uni" business PtbY?
Your son went to University.!
Hate the word " Uni"
I also hate it when children are called "kids" but then I can be a miserable old biddy at times !
Thank you all, for the Birthday Wishes.
ReplyDeleteSadly today has not been good.
I had my 'flu vaccine yesterday, and I have been "poorly" all day.
On talking to the Pharmacist who jabbed me, and other ex Pharmacist colleagues, the same thoughts have been said.
This is that there is an in effect on the immune system, as the covid vaccine is still very active.
My symptoms today, are identical to those I experienced after my 1st covid jab!
My Birthday events, sadly have been postponed and will.be re-arranged for another time.
I had some gorgeous flowers delivered today.💐💐
DeleteOh, Miriam! Guess those flowers cheered you up though! Hope you enjoy your unbirthday when it comes around!😊
DeleteSorry way to spend a birthday, Miriam. How very disappointing.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you are unwell, Miriam, and unable to celebrate your birthday.
ReplyDeleteFor one reason or another we seem to be getting used to delaying celebrations and other things. My first cataract op is next Thursday, 19 months on!
And how long was your golden wedding cruise delayed for, Archerphile?
Yes it is just a "hiccup" but a very annoying one, This just seems inevitable even nowadays.
DeleteGood luck Hilary with the 1st catarct op. Just stay still + relaxed and don't be scared. All will be well.
Happy birthday Miriam, sorry you were poorly for it and hope you feel better soon. Your birthday is a solstice one so "happy solstice" too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame and a disappointment for you Miriam 😕
ReplyDeleteWill be interesting now as to how the rest of us react to our flu jabs especially those of us (not Archerphile though) who normally have no side effects from it!
Mr R had no side effects whatsoever from either Pfizer jab so hope it will remain so when he has his flu jab and booster. How soon after your flu jab did you feel poorly?
ALERT GARY - another flipping intruder!
ReplyDeleteMiriam, so sorry I missed your birthday yesterday. After many failed attempts to publish a greeting, I gave up! Seems to be working this morning though, so I hope you manage to enjoy a postponed celebration soon….as many of us have had to do in the past couple of years. 💐 💐
ReplyDeleteI hope Miriam has had a better day today.
ReplyDeleteHaving said I've never had a reaction to a flue jab in the past, I seem to be in the throes of a mild reaction this time.
Three nights of extreme sweating, and feeling pretty groggy today.
And to cap it all, a call at 2 o'clock to fit me in for my Covid booster, which I have now had.
LanJan, have you had your booster yet ?
Oh dear it will be interesting to hear how we all get on with our flu jabs now Mrs P.
DeleteIs there really a connection with the flu jab and the covid jabs we have in us as Miriam was told may be the case? Wow you’ve had your Covid booster as well now let us know how that reacts if at all….
My flu jab is on 9/10 and a drive through appointment as last year which went very well Mr R - different surgery 2/10. He should be hearing very soon regarding his covid booster as he was vaccinated earlier than me re the age scale rule.
Thank you for your tips and reassurance, Miriam. I hope you are feeling better today.
ReplyDeleteAnd you too, Mrs P.
Miriam, happy birthday for yesterday, & hope you had a better day today 💐
ReplyDeleteHilary, love your rice fields 😎
It's nearly 2 am and I'm pleased to say I've had about an hour and a half sleep.
ReplyDeleteI had my booster at 3 pm.
Four hours later I had just done some light hoovering and was suddenly overcome with nausea. Within minutes I had violent convulsive sickness and diarrhoea.
This continued for the next four hours with intervals of about ten minutes.
I had not eaten since a couple of slices of bread at around midday, so the vomiting was nothing but bile.
I needed to get to bed but had to get Lady out for a wee, having decided she would have to forego her walk and her supper.
A neighbour came and took her for a quick toilet stop and with considerable difficulty I gathered necessary precautions beside and within my bed. I couldn't manage a hot water bottle and it took over two hours to warm up, but fortunately the S & D ceased once i was prone.
A still have a light headache but think this 'episode ' is over.
I've done some reading and according to Forbes, evidence from Israel shows 7% of reactions are of S& D and most reactions over within 1-3 days.
Hope mine is just hours !
You did ask Lady R !
MrsP I do hope your reaction is over and done as soon as possible. I hope you intend to sleep as much as possible.
DeleteMrs P, that sounds awful. Poor you.
DeleteI hope you managed to get more sleep last night and feel better today. 💐
Yet another night of extreme sweating, but nothing but a headache on waking from a few hours, and at least i did get some sleep.
DeleteDoes anyone know if we are supposed/ required, to report reactions, and if so
to what authority ?
Mrs P,
DeleteThe link below is from the NHS website. For reporting adverse reactions
https://coronavirus-yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/
The NHS website also suggests calling 111
DeleteThere is a link on the main page to a specific site for reporting covid vaccine reactions.
DeleteThanks ZT - I will check it out.
DeleteIndeed I did ask Mrs P and so far on this blog reactions by people who previously have not had any or only slight reactions to the first 2 covid injections do not appear to be fairing so well with this years flu and covid booster jabs. It was helpful to read the time gap before your symptoms appeared as I will have a 32 mile round trip when I have my booster and want to be able to feel that I will be ok to get home….
DeleteWho is next on jab list I wonder keep us up to date and hopefully there will be some no reaction at all posts too. Certainly Mr R did not have anything at all from his 2 Covid ones
yet I as the youngster of the partnership did 😡 😂
Mrs. P, I really hope you feel much better today, your symptoms sound horrible.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness your have a kind neighbour to help with Lady when needed.
I reported my Covid jab symptoms to the yellow card scheme, and also my g.p. so it was all on record. The yellow card info is not shared with your doctor.
I still have occasional side effects from the first Covid jab, am not having any more, and probably will not have the flu jab either.
I think there should be more info out there for older people about possible contra indications so people can make informed choices. Very glad it has been highlighted on here.
Thank you to you and Miriam.
Reported to the yellow card system by phone, I couldn't face all the typing on screen that I anticipated would be required.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mistral for the info... not shared with GP.
I will phone.
I still have a very bad headache across my eyes, but recognise that I must be very dehydrated. I have managed two cups of tea, much less than my usual intake, and am sipping water.
Have in the last hour mustered myself for a shower which has refreshed me a little but I still feel wrecked and must now get this poor doggie out.
Thank you Lady R for keeping us all on the ball.
I wish all others the best when their booster is due.
It will be interesting to read Miriam's comments.
So sorry about your problems with your flu and Covid jabs Mrs P, I hope that you are feeling better soon.
ReplyDeleteWe had our flu jabs last week with no effects whatsoever, not even a sore arm for once. Covid jab not due for another month.
So much for the bright idea of giving both at once, one in each arm! For each of my Covid jabs I've been asked if I've had any other injection in the past week. Perhaps it needs to be longer than that.
ReplyDeletePoor Mrs P.
Sorry to hear Mrs P is suffering so badly, after both jabs.
ReplyDeleteI am fine now, 48hrs after my 'flu jab, except for a still very sore arm.
I am not due for my covid booster, until end of November, but this will be done in a different arm..
I have just been in contact with my local council, with a complaint. It was bin day today.
ReplyDeleteThe first vehicle came and emptied the re-cycle bins. The second came, about 2 hours later, to do the garden ones, so I assumed.
On going out, I have found that my garden bin and those of my neighbours, are still full. I immediately reported this.
I have just spoken to my neighbours, as we need to leave these out, for emptying as and when...
...along with the fact that there will be no garden bin collections for 6/8 weeks, over the winter months, and then there will be a £40 charge!
DeleteRegarding waste collections:
ReplyDeleteBecause we have so much garden stuff to get rid of and our 4 composting bins were so full, we decided to join our Council’s garden waste collection scheme.
So back at the end of May we paid a total of £90 for a brown bin and a year of fortnightly collections
The bin didn’t arrive until first week in August.
Since then we have had ONE collection!
And several emails from Council apologising & saying it’s due to Covid or lack of HGV drivers or anything else they can think of.
We were due a collection on Monday this week. Our bin is still standing outside waiting to be collected. The postman has to dodge round it every day.
Not very good value for our £90……one bin and just one collection!
Regarding vaccinations
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear about the reactions some people have had. Especially Mrs P.
It’s rather putting me off going for my Covid and flu vaccines.
I always have a very sore arm after flu vacs, and had serious reactions after both my Pfizer ones - painful, very swollen arm with intense irritation, especially after the second one.
So, what to do? Risk having two painful, itchy, swollen arms or take a chance on getting flu or Covid? Mr A never had any reactions so he is very keen to be jabbed. I’m not so sure.
😵💫
Get the 'flu vaccine, as 'flu can be very debilitating.
DeleteI remember so well, two awful bouts of this, when I was almost comatose for two days, and I was a lot younger then.
Any awful side-effects, which could last for a few days, far outweigh the risks of getting ill and suffering.
I do agree with Miriam.
DeleteI am still feeling pretty wrecked but keep reminding myself that I would be feeling far far worse with Covid.
And..... as my daughter pointed out, the flue vaccine is designed to be far stronger this year than previously due to our collective lack of immunity because of the very low incidence of flue contagion last year.
However, although I was sick again last night having had a very small amount of scrambled egg and a meagre slice of toast, my hot bath seemed to eliminate the bruising from the previous nights retching, and lifted my headache considerably, and this morning it's still only a light headache.
Have courage, AP. Just because this happened to Mrs P doesn't mean you will be the same. I would much prefer itchy and swollen arms to being laid low for three weeks alone with flu or risk being hospitalised with Covid, which I surely would. Weigh up the alternatives.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who was put off having her knees replaced because she didn't like the sound of the operation. Having had both knees and both hips done, I'm still living in my house and learning to manage the large garden alone, as well as coming back to organ playing after the lockdown albeit with an almighty struggle and getting very tired to start with. Meanwhile, Myrtle is in sheltered accommodation and hobbling about with a stick. She says she wishes now that she'd been more positive!
There was someone here, I think it is Lady R, who has also been viewing the BBC series "Ambulance".
ReplyDeleteI watched the last episode of this, and I feel so in admiration, as to the entire ambulance service shown in such dire circumstances.
This also applies to the Police, Fire-fighters etc. who provided then and still continue to do so, such essential emergency services.
Yes it’s me Miriam I have 2 to catch up with last weeks and tonight. It is a hard watch but the crews skills and compassion know no bounds and thank god for each and everyone of them 🙏
DeleteOur garden bins are emptied on recycle day and they usually come quite early in the morning so nowadays I put it out the night before as have been known to forget on the day! I pay £6 a month on DD which spreads the cost. They usually continue through the winter every fortnight. That’s awful, Miriam that yours weren’t emptied and I hope they put it right for you.
ReplyDeleteOur garden bin is emptied once a fortnight on recycling day. We don't have to pay for it but it's probably only a matter of time before we do.
ReplyDeleteHaving read some of the above tales of garden waste collection I think we are being very shabbily treated by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Delete£90 in May and only one collection since, (last week’s STILL not collected) is very poor service indeed. 😡
Have you contacted them about it?
DeleteOf course!
DeleteSeveral phone calls when we have always been told the bin will be collected within a few days.
Even sent an email with a map showing the exact location of our cottage and where we put the bin. ……which, incidentally, is exactly the same place as our normal waste bins are put and which are collected weekly.
It’s extremely frustrating !
Why not contact your local parish council.
DeleteI was pleased, that my notification to the council about missing garden waste collections (there were at least 4 of us), was actioned so quickly.
ReplyDeleteThese were emptied at 8.00am this morning.
Cheshire Cheese.
I wonder if, Cheshire East will do the same as Cheshire West, with this charge?
I am so pleased that all happened so quickly 😇
DeleteAnyone watching strictly?
ReplyDeleteYES ptby and so far much better than I dared to hope (as I’d gone off it a bit) I love that Tess still can’t hold contestants hands at the end of their dance it always really irked me…Could be shaping up to be a good season 🤞🏼🤗
DeleteBeen out this evening but catching up on the recording which is good because I can fast forward through the boring bits!
DeleteThought Dan Walker did surprisingly well.
I don’t know many of the contestants this year but expect we shall get to know them over the coming weeks
What was with strictly last night? The scores were all over the place. I think Anton is lovely as a judge. There wasn’t really a great clodhopping celeb to laugh at….no Ed Balls or Anne Widdicombe! I only know of Greg Wise. Will probably keep watching it as it’s our traditional Saturday nights viewing but I hate how it is so “woke”. Apologies to some on here in advance but I do not want to see two blokes dancing on a family show.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was much too long, so was glad I had recorded and could do some fast forwarding. I wasn’t too keen on some of the very modern music or dances.
DeleteI liked Nina Wadia ( who won that Memory programme with Sandi Toksvig) and though she did marvellously for someone of her stature.
Funnily enough, I thought the 2 male dancers were very good and much more enjoyable to watch than the two female dancers of last year whom I found unconvincing.
The good thing for me is that the show will get a bit shorter each week as the weak contestants get weeded out!
Am I the only person who does n't watch Strictly?
ReplyDeleteI watched a programme instead about Stephen Hawkin.
which was extremely interesting.
His first wife seemed lovely.
Hope those of you with reactions to injections soon feel better
All being well I hope to go to North Yorkshire tomorrow until Thursday .
To family or friends LJ? either way how lovely and do enjoy 🍁🍁
DeleteI don’t watch Strictly either. Don’t know most of the contestants and felt it wrong way back when they got rid of Arlene in favour of Darcy as she was younger and attractive and not because of her dancing experience. We watched Beat the Chasers last night which was quite exciting!
DeleteHave a lovely time in Yorkshire, Lanjan!😊
I've not watched Strictly, nor Bake Off, Throw Down, Downton, ...
DeleteNo telly in this shoe : )
I think someday I shall get a box of Call the Midwife DVDs or watch it on SOiaS's Netflix. At one stage I thought I ought to get hold of Lost to see what all the fuss was about, but I heard the final episode was a disappointment so I didn't bother.
In other news, Auntie Beeb has started in-person radio recordings again! Haven't applied for any yet, but hopefully soon. It'll be good to return to the Radio Theatre after all these months.
Warning! I am about to have a grumble!
ReplyDeleteAbout, of all shops, Mark and Spencer, one of our longest existing stores.
About 2 - 3 years ago I bought some items of lingerie which I love and which fitted perfectly. However they have now become a bit grey & stretched with age. (Sorry Gary!)
I want to buy some replacements but can’t find them in our local store or online.
I couldn’t find anywhere on their help pages where I could ask for information about whether these items are still available.
So I emailed the customer help department giving the exact item code number, description, size, etc
Next day I got a reply:
“We are sorry to hear you are disappointed with an item bought in our food store. I have contacted our Food Manager and the supplier, informing them of your complainant, to ensure standards are maintained and this will not happen again. If you send me your receipt I will issue a refund”…..or words to that effect.
Obviously the person in Customer Services had not read my email properly
I sent another email detailing the item I am looking for again and asking for a proper and appropriate reply.
This morning I got the following email reply:
“We are sorry to hear you have found a fault with the knickers you bought recently. I have notified the Dept. Manager and supplier to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Please send a photo of the problem and your receipt and I will issue a refund”
I give up!
And I am appalled by such hopeless Customer Service from a company like M&S.
I am ashamed on behalf of my old company Archerphile and no way to ensure my pension is secure if this is the way customers are being treated. I think you should inform the CEO 😡
DeleteKaty thinks it isn’t a real person replying but a BOT whatever that is! Most unsatisfactory but cheaper than employing a person!!!
DeleteTesting for Autumn pic!
ReplyDeleteHurrah - from my IOW sister if I remember correctly 👏🏻
DeleteVirginia Creeper Lady R?
DeleteBeautiful!
I have spent many hours in the garden today. The lawns were a bit long, as were fed + weeded on Tuesday, so no cutting for at least 3 days before and after.
ReplyDeleteNow I have stripes, again. The garden, is now being put to bed for the winter, slowly but surely. I took adavantage of a warm, sunny but breezing day, before Autumn starts next week, if the forecast is correct. I bit the bullet, taking out my bizzie lizzies (sadly still in flower) out of a stone tub. More bulbs were put in along with new compost, followed by loads of winter pansies. It is looking good.
Last night, with R4ex on the radio, there was a programme about radio soaps. I only heard the last 15mins, but his was an episode of TA. I am not sure from when, but Katy was just a baby, Eva the au-pair, had just arrived and Roger came to take the very young Adam + Debbie, out
My comment. It was sort of interesting, but very slow and sedated. Still Phil Archer and Walter Pickles were heard.
Where on earth did I get Walter Pickles from 😆😅🤣
ReplyDeleteI meant Walter Gabriel, obviously.
Perhaps I have just invented a new future Ambridge resident..😉
Thinking of Wilfred Pickles Miriam? (Although probably too young to remember him)
DeleteI brought in my 5 doz pelargonium cuttings yesterday. With that and Strictly starting I know that autumn is here.
ReplyDeleteArcherfile, that really is poor service from M&S.
I don't watch strictly as I don't have a television, but I have seen it from time to time at one daughter's who along with husband adores it.
ReplyDeleteI don't.
All that fuss and over the top stuff is a turn off for me.
I loved ballroom dancing when at school in the fifties and was very good with an equally good male partner.
I reacquainted myself with ballroom dancing in the early 2000s and discovered the niche of same sex ballroom.
The most elegant dancing I have ever seen was in a beautiful period ballroom at the Polish Club in Kensington Gore, with two men in evening dress and tails.
An exquisite moment.
And although I won't be seeing it, I don't think ' Strictly' is being woke in this instance.
Many families encompass happy couples, and sometimes unhappy couples of the same sex and always did.
They just used to be kept hidden for everybody else's comfort.
If by a ' family programme ' is meant a programme for all ages to share, then in these times most children, if not their parents or grandparents, are comfortable about the fluidity of sexuality, and accept it as normal within an inclusive society.
We will agree to disagree on this topic Mrs P.
DeleteWe will PtbY.
DeleteI don't watch the programme but it was obviously successful.
ReplyDeleteWhy change anything?
If it ain't broke.........
I am really annoyed because the Cricketing wokists are changing batsman to batter
As far as I a co concerned batter is what Yorkshire pudding and pancakes are made from.
Talking of Yorkshire.
All being well I am meeting up with both family and friends Lady R
Son is a volunteer on t he North Yorkshire Railway and is over that side of the Pennines this week.
Lovely LJ very pleased for you.
DeleteAlthough Mr R was into most sports in his younger days including cricket (of which I understand practically nothing) I too am annoyed that batsman is to be replaced with batter what is the matter with people!
What about “mankind” I bet there are some who will want that word banned next when all it means is the whole of the human race. It is enough to make one want to “give up” it really is 😡
to not too 🙄
DeleteIsn't that something you get on chips? Ask Harriet Har-person.
ReplyDeleteWe always refer to her by the same name!!!!
DeleteA few years ago the PC crowd wanted to change the word manufacture because of the man bit. In fact the origin of the word is from the Latin for hand, manus. The first meaning was made by hand. You just feel like saying get a life to these ignorant people! Agree batter is a silly description!
ReplyDeletePlease note, that this is a general post only.
ReplyDeleteI am getting irritated by the use of a word, now constantly creeping into the lovely english language.
I see it in many places and very often, not being used correctly.
This is woke....
To me, it is the past participle of wake, and only that.
This is one occasion, I cannot adapt to modern changes.
I am so glad that I did such a lot, garden wise, yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI woke up to pouring rain.
It is sunny, but so windy + cool..
Still, to get to nearly October, without putting the CH or fire on, is good. It won't be long though.
I have used the word "woke", but in the way it should be..😁
DeleteIn the Navy heating was turned on on 1st October and off on 1st April. It didn’t matter how cold or warm it was at those times! I’m happy to be more flexible! My power company request monthly readings ( I have not yet got around to a smart meter!) and I have just taken gas and electricity readings finding both well under last year’s at the same time. Katy pointed out that last September was much colder as she had a picture of Buddy with his fleece on a year ago. He has been just wearing his collar and harness this year!
DeleteThe main room of my cottage is below ground level, so with underfloor heating in this room the heating turns on automatically when the ground temperature reaches a certain level.
ReplyDeleteThe system overrides the programme to do this.
Twice in the last few days the heating has come on at three in the afternoon, and it's certainly been on very early in the morning too.
On overcast and chilly days throughout September I've also turned it on for a few hours to heat the cottage through.
I agree with Ev, and my bills are low enough for me to be flexible.
So far we have not had the heating on in this new house. We have had 2 fires on. One to cure the glue from re-roping the log burner door and the second just cos I fancied some flames really. We are lucky that there are 2 big windows and a patio door. So the room gets any sun all day. 🤞our fuel bills will be low.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased we moved back to the town now with this fuel crisis. Yesterday I walked to the Drs and we would be able to walk to the supermarket.
ReplyDeleteArcherphile…….get moving!!!!
Don’t worry PtyB. My campaign is gathering strength and gets mentioned at every opportunity!
DeleteYesterday, for example, I was listing all the things I would require in our ‘next house’.
Including a built-in waist high oven so I don’t have to spend another morning squatting on the kitchen floor trying to clean the one we have…….and then needing a lot of help to get up again!
The other thing to have at eye level if possible for you is the fridge! I had a fridge freezer after we moved here and the freezer is at the bottom. It saves a lot of aching bones trying to find things in a floor level fridge!
DeleteI also find a side opening oven is best as the door opening at the bottom can be awkward for cleaning.
DeleteMay I add to the suggestions above.
DeleteI have always had my fridge at eye level, or at the very least lifted one foot to eighteen inches off the floor. This gives the additional- admittedly low level extra cupboard space, but useful for rarely used equipment.
And I would recommend a sliding door built in oven.
To those unfamiliar - the door drops down and can then be used as a shelf to bring something out of the oven, but can also be slid in under the oven. I really like it.
I must admit to having been incredibly fortunate in having all of my kitchens hand built, either by myself, and or with help, and once in the early seventies a super duper handbuilt outfit by a local joiner. I have also designed each of my kitchens myself.
I've never had an off the shelf job although my current kitchen is a mix of some units, Howdens, and some recycled cupboards, mixed with my own innovations.
The one really useful innovation for me that I've copied from a daughter is pull out retractable drawers. I have two under my oven which I had built by the carpenter into a Howdens housing unit, and two more under the sink. All of my saucepans fit into the ones under the oven.
These runners for these drawers are robust and you can get / build drawers to any size. My daughter has them three and four feet long under a dresser unit and keeps all her crockery in one - full dinner set and bowls - and the other takes all basins and cooking paraphernalia.
Very pleased to hear AP that you are ramping up the ' we need to move' message.
You do need to move !
Keep it up.
This is my fourth attempt at a reply!
DeleteYes Ev and Mrs P - I have a Neff slide-away door oven (as used in the Great British Bake-off) and wouldn’t be without it. So much easier to get into for lifting things in and out, and for cleaning - I just need it positioned higher up!
And yes again, Mrs P.
Moving is definitely on the agenda now, even Mr A has agreed we cannot stay here for much longer, the garden is getting too much. I bring up the subject every day and have even discussed a move with the neigbours at social events so everyone is aware of our plans.
The big decisions are - where to move to and what to do with this cottage. It will be difficult to sell so we have talked about renting it out and either buying or renting a smaller place with a manageable garden. In a way we’d like to keep it in the family so that eventually one of the grandchildren could have it, should they need to live in this area, or it could be sold after our deaths and form part of their inheritance.
But the most important thing is WHERE? I’d like to be away from the south-east, possibly mid or north Wales or preferably Shropshire which we have always loved.
Cue, Right Move and other such websites………
Long term rentals, sounds a very good idea, and a sensible alternative. It will probably speed the move on.
DeleteShropshire/Wales border, is a lovely area as you well know.
Oops !
DeleteSo you already have the Neff slide door oven.
Apologies AP.
Mine is at the perfect height and I've always had a gas hob.
Where to ?
Is the nightmare isn't it ?
And I am usually very careful with the use of that word, since most difficulties in life, however minor are described as such, and I recognise that nightmares are not usually frequent.
I too didn't really know where I wanted to go when I left London seven years ago, chose Frome or Stroud to focus on - cos you have to focus on something-
but do not feel that I've felt settled here, and certainly don't feel I've made a 'new life'. I had great plans to volunteer in various ways that interested me, but although I've joined organisations I haven't felt settled enough to actually sign up to any volunteering. And that's a chicken and egg situation, since had I signed up and got to know people I wouldn't feel as unsettled as I have been.
I would love to go to Shropshire or Herefordshire but feel it too far from either daughter, and I see little enough of them as it is.
A small city like Truro would do me, but both daughters have deterred me from Cornwall, I suspect because they suspect that daughter may not be there for very long, given a difficult marriage.
I feel very strongly, now, that I really want to be within close proximity to a major river, preferably an estuary. I came here partly to be near to the Severn, but it's not near enough, unless I want a twelve mile daily commute.
Can't afford Bath, much as I'd like to. And a friend gave me a book at the weekend.... London Gardens, and boy has it made me feel homesick since, but I could never afford to return.
Good luck AP...... if you can afford to rent your cottage and still buy elsewhere, I would consider that a good option.
Go and see your local estate agents, or talk to the nearest Hamptons and get advice. Due to the Covid restrictions and working from home the market has changed a great deal. Your extensive garden could probably encompass a home office - permitted development - and could then perhaps encourage a long term rental.
Thank goodness, that I still have half a tank of petrol, as my nearest petrol station was closed...run dry.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes me cross is, did all those who bought in panic mode, actually need that fuel, at that time.
It means, that those who really need fuel, are now being deprived due to the "selfishness" of so many others.
This sounds harsh, but it is just how I feel.
I am now in a quandry, as to how far do I now drive and travel, as to not knowing if I can fill up, when it will be needed.
There were also a lot of shortages in the supermarket this morning, very reminiscent of the early days of Lockdown No.1..
Life appears to be going backwards..
Archerfile, I may have misremembered but I think it was you who said your recently widowed sister in law would need to move from her large house (old rectory?) Maybe she and you and your husband could move to somewhere close to each other in Wales or Shropshire.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are quite right Janice. It was Mr A’s sister Ros who lost her husband very recently.
ReplyDeleteAnd living somewhere not to far from her would suit me very well. Not that we are particularly close, she has always been very indépendant and not a home or family maker like me. But the area she lives in, near Montgomery and Powys, is beautiful. Her main shopping venues are Newtown for food and general shopping and Shrewsbury for a good day out.
I really fancy being on the edge of a small country town like Newtown or perhaps Ludlow or Leominster if we could afford it!
The other factor is family, of course. As our son & his family live in France we can only see them occasionally, and not for the past 2 years, though I hope that will be rectified soon.
But our daughter, who currently lives quite near us, will be moving within the next 2 -3 years when her youngest has finished school. They want to move further north to be closer to a main canal network in order to use their narrow boat much more. So they are thinking of the Bedford, Northampton, or Warwick countryside or perhaps even north Shropshire or Cheshire.
I certainly don’t want to follow them too closely, but don’t really want to be hundreds of miles away either.
Lots of thinking to be done!
You will find a solution, of that I am sure.
DeleteI just want to wish HILARY every good wishes for tomorrow, if I have remembered correctly. 👁
ReplyDeleteWhat a very rainy, wet and cold morning. Summer has definitely gone.
ReplyDeleteMy newly planted stone tub. had to be re-planted last night. I thought a cat, probably mine, used it as a litter tray so the new winter pansies were scrabbled up, along with some bulbs.
How wrong was I.
A squirell has just appeared and started digging into it. I chased it off, for the time being.
GARY
ReplyDeleteHow is Mr GG? 🤞🏼he is improving. Sending you both good wishes 😍
Also for Gary - your fellow competitor in The Archers Quiz, Chris Aldridge left the BBC today, the news programme ending a few minutes ago had a tribute from Jolene :)
ReplyDelete(I think it was The World Tonight)