General Chat

Talking of Halloween Ann, I couldn’t believe it at the garden centre on Monday. There were all sorts of large Halloween shaped pots and ornaments for sale, pumpkins etc. why would you want to spend all that money for an ornament applicable to one day that still most people don’t celebrate.

But not just paying road tax, the rot ser in when they started closing banks, post offices soon followed? And we have seen the chaos that can be caused if a cyber attack hits the internet. So on line banking etc would be unavailable.
Yes Ann you are right, only 1st class stamps going up. Not sure how that will be cost effective.

Here I am again - just like the bad penny I keep turning up :-D

Thanks for the reminder about the stamps Gwyn. I stocked up well just before the last increase and still have plenty left but I will get a few more 1st class as I'm inclined to forget to post birthday cards in time and end up putting 1st class stamps on them.

Annx, your OH is a glutton for punishment isn't he, possibly applying for more work.. He must be very good at what he does to be so much in demand. I'm very glad we haven't had the level of flooding that there has been round your way.

Did Jake arrive to sort out the jobs you still need doing AnnG? Is there a lot still to do? I must keep my eyes and ears open for a good general handyman as we will be needing someone sooner or later - OH won't be able to go on forever doing all the jobs. I had my heart in my mouth this morning when he was balancing near the top of a tall step-ladder to clear some guttering that was overflowing with the rain.

Yesterday I had a really bad day. I had no sleep the night before so was not only exhausted but developed a bad head, my back was feeling worse than ever and my dodgy tum decided that yesterday would be a good day to have the funny turn it has every few weeks. I ended up staying in bed all day. I was supposed to go to the chiropodists in the morning but OH had to ring and cancel it. Her paperwork/appointment cards etc all say appointments cancelled less than 24 hours in advance will be charged but her receptionist told OH on the phone that there would be no charge.

I did get some sleep last night and managed to make my optician's appointment today. My heart sank when he said there was a slight change in the distant vision in both eyes as that would mean new varifocals and sunglasses and, as my lenses are quite complex, it gets really expensive. But, bless him, he actually said that the glasses are so expensive and mine seem to need changing quite often that he thought I would be able to get away with single vision distance glasses, just to use for some things, which would be a lot cheaper. He's told me when to use the varifocals and when to use the single vision ones. I already have single vision reading glasses so I will now have 4 pairs of glasses instead of 3 which is a bit of a pain but on the other hand only cost me about £130 as opposed to the £800 or so it cost me barely a year ago.

I am sure there was something I was going to tell you but it's gone right out of my head so I'll say goodnight. Sleep well everyone.

Good evening

It’s rained on and off all day, though we only had one heavy downpour, the rest of the time it’s been light showers. There’s quite a cold wind which is making it feel a lot cooler than the actual temperature.

You had a long sleep Mel. As Mandy said you must have been tired. Yes, post offices do help with banking but not all post offices do the other things they used to do. Our town has a population of near enough 25,000. It had a good sized main post office which was always busy. That closed and we had a counter in W H Smith. That closed and we got a pop up P.O. Now we have a permanent one in a very small shop tucked away in a precinct, but you can’t get your road tax there or get your passport application checked, for example. For those you have to go to a village about 5 miles away. This place has a population of less than 1,500. How does that make sense? So, if you are unable to use the internet you are reliant on an infrequent and unreliable bus service or expensive taxis in order to pay your road tax.

Sorry, I got on my high horse there. I need to go and check on my casserole and get my roast potatoes in the oven but will probably bbl.

Afternoon All

No rain today yet and no breeze that was forecast either. I could have done a wash like Mandy, but thought it would rain so I didn't!

Yes I tend to forget what the post offices do now, as two post offices in the nearby villages closed before the pandemic. Another moved into the Co-op in the village but I don't use that as the carpark is partly rented out to companies now and it is always full and the spaces are so tight. We have quite a few hole in the wall machines to withdraw cash, even one in a local garden centre. I haven't tried the service where the post office pick up your parcels yet Mel, but I had read about it as I print the labels online from their site now if a parcel needs returning. I must admit I don't find their website the easiest to use!

I think it is only the first class stamps that are going up in price this time and second class is staying the same.

OH was up at 6.30 am this morning to be showered and ready to go to a business breakfast meeting at the nearby council offices. One of the councillors pushed a leaflet in his hand about a panel they are looking for members for. He seems to tick all the boxes for what they are looking for and he sits on the same kind of panel for another council already so it looks like he will apply. These are usually very few meetings and no follow up work to do and it would only be 10 mins away by car so I expect he will apply.

We popped to a garden centre after OH's meeting and it was full of Halloween and Christmas decorations being made space for. The road was still flooded the full width on one of the roads and on the way home we went past my teenage home and the field opposite had water lying along the edge where the ditch was overflowing and I've never seen that field flood before. One person OH spoke to on the phone today that lives near the floods on the photo said floodwater had reached his garage door. Imagine having to try and move all your things inside just in case it got into your house. A nightmare!

Time for a COT methinks! :-D

Its put the whole day out having that sleep in. I have only just got hungry as I have been fiddling with my polyclay and its way past time for my pills so I am going to eat now.

Grey here too.

Afternoon all,

Rainy first thing and we went shopping to tesco and aldi and to the farm to get eggs and they now have the big sacks of potatoes so we got one for us and one for son .
As we headed from the farm to aldi it tipped down ,now the suns out so I have hung washing out ,the slabs are dry so hopefully the washing will get dry but the sky is z bit grey in places .

Mel you did have a nice lay in this morning you must have been tired .

Tthanks for that Gwyn I shall have to make a trip to the post van tomorrow to get some for sending my Christmas Cards.

Mel
Talking of the Post Office have you stocked up on stamps, which can still be used when the postage goes up next week?

We send 6 cards overseas at Christmas and we can't buy those stamps in advance, because they have a price printed on them, but normal postage stamps with the bar code to the side can be used when price increases even though they were bought at a lower price.

Its easy to forget the post office but they really do do so much more now and without them we could all be stranded paying in cheques, or drawing cash out I use our local post van for all those things. People get their pensions there and pay bills. They will even pick up your parcels for posting if you go online and pay for them first the postman collects them and brings the post label and you don't even have to leave the house but I hav'nt done that yet as I have to work that one out but it would be good for me as the post van dos'nt come on a Tuesday.

Hit the wrong thing. I will send some pics of the three deer in the orchard and the buzzars legs feet and tail but not till I have had my coffee and got myself together.

I had heard the buzzard yesterday so I knew it was around as when I corned the chickens I heard it calling. Also I had shot a rabbit and thrown it into the back field where it always gets taken by something be it the barn owl, crows or the Buzzard.

Morning all,

I got up for the loo when it was really dark and then woke again at 10.40am !!!!!!!!!!!!!! so I think I madeup for the other day.

Dull and dreary here today and its 14 degrees and mostly cloudy.

I am going to do some cooking for the freezer today but noy sure what yet but it will be something with mince.

Good morning all dull so far but early and still a bit dark reminding me of times to come :-( :-( I hate it when the clocks go back. Hopefully Jake is coming today to look at the jobs that need doing in the garden.

I'd forgotten about the Post Office Mel, so thanks for the reminder and I will do that when the cheque comes. It's a shame about the Buzzard flying off before you got a full picture of it. It's not easy to always have a camera handy in time!

Just had a buzzard sitting on one of my fence poles out the back came and got my camera and went to take a pic but it flew away and I only got a very blurry pair of claws and tail. The doe and its two fawns are in the orchard eating the fallen apples.

Ann you do know you can bank cheques in the post office? You get envelopes to put them in. I do that as we hav'nt got a bank now anywhere near us.

Gosh reading the post its got dark!!

I have been ironing all afternoon, well a long while anyway. I had put some in the spare bedroom and had'nt realised. Most is ironed now so thats was a good job don.

I had to laugh about the cruise ship.

Yes that is a shame but totally predictable when they built a brand new one only three junctions north on the M5 near Tewkesbury. We go to both but I actually like the one further south near Gloucester as we/I have been going to a garden centre on that sire for over 30 years (albeit 4 different names.). There is also a very large independent garden centre near the one that sill close which is why it is not profitable, when they took over a really good GC (Blooms) they did away with all the franchises which didn't go down well with the locals.

Afternoon All,

Well the forecast was right about heavier rain today. It is that steady rain that's been nonstop all day. I don't think I'm going out and OH isn't either by the look of things. He was going to a match tonight but all the rain will likely mean it will be cancelled.

I hope you get a reply to your email today AnnG and that they can sort something out for you. I was looking at the Dobbies Garden Centres that are shutting down this morning and noticed the Gloucester one will be one of them. The nearest one to us is outside Nuneaton which wasn't listed. It's confusing here as we have Dobies Garden Centres too which is almost the same name! More parcel wrapping and cardmaking sounds a good idea for today's weather.

I watched that about the cruise ship this morning Mandy. You couldn't make it up as you say! Did you see the monthly charge on the cruise was £7,000 for the services provided as well. You'd need a serious amount of money to be able to go on it.

Mel the bin men woke me at 6.45am this morning and then I didn't go back to sleep but was late getting up. I need to have a tidy up in the study and need a new lightbulb in here. OH found one to use for now after the big bang that made fuses blow but it is much dimmer than the last one.

I had another ordeal online today trying to close two bank accounts. When I switched to my current bank a couple of years ago I thought they would close the two linked saver accounts attached to it as well, but they left them open and a few pence interest from before the switch got added and since then interest on the few pence gets added and is a nuisance getting messages I have to log on and open. I decided to see if I could close them and what a palaver it was! The security I had to go through included the usual password, txt code, memorable words etc, but in addition I had to load my photo on the screen from my laptop and a message even came up to say 'Stop smiling.' (which made me smile even more!) Even that wasn't enough as I had to hold up other ID to the screen within a square with my photo on. I used my driving licence and it even wanted a photo of the back of it. I eventually managed to close the accounts, but couldn't believe that they won't transfer the money to my new bank account, only to a bank account with themselves. So it has to be a cheque sent to me instead. Now the local branch of my current bank has closed, so I will probably have to post the cheque to the city branch costing more than the cheque will be for. :-S

Afternoon all ,

We have Ann's dismal weather here today ,heavy drizzle at times then it stops for ten minutes then starts again .
Not done much this morning this weather doesn't make you want to do much .

I know I shouldn't laugh but just listening to the news about the cruise ship with people on board that should be on a world cruise but got stuck in Belfast for four months ,yesterday they got the go ahead to set off and off they went only to be told no the ship needs to come back to Belfast to fill in some paper work, so their first stop was Belfast and so was the second ,you couldn't make it up .
Some of the people had even sold their houses as the world tour was going to take a few years to do.

Morning all,

I have a nice bright morning at the momemnt with sun but also grey clouds to the north. There's quite a breeze so I need to get the washing on. Its 12 degrees and pc says partly sunny.

Shopping comes today and I have one sub a mac cheese instead of the tomato and moterella pasta but I thought I had ordered one of those anyway so I shall have to see when it arrives.

Apart from that nothing else on today.

I woke at 5.03am for the loo and could'nt get back to sleep so just lay there getting very hot and then the phone rang at 7.40am and it was from Asda saying I had one sub. so I lay there again stil awake and thought I may get up but must have dozed off and the next time I looked at the phone it was 9am.

Good morning all 0730, drizzly, dark and dismal (using Ann's very apt word), this morning. although it is 10 degrees so not that cold.

Slept well last night so that is a plus. Sent an email to the booking office medical secretary yesterday evening, hoping he will reply today sometime. Ann, I did actually have the appointment notified in writing in email, 2 messages etc but nothing re the cancellation. You always used to get a letter. It all seems to have gone awry when they let IT take over and asked everyone to go paperless. which is fine if it is properly carried out.

Nothing planned today. I was hoping that my tumble drier pump might have been delivered so that could be fitted today as Paul is away after today until the weekend. I think Thursday is going to have some sun so I will do a wash then as it will dry in the conservatory. then I will have to find the iron.

I think I might be wrapping the remainder of the Hampshire presents. And then making some more cards.