General Chat

Oh I had forgotten it was the Thames Bridges walk this weekend ,I hope Gwyn's daughter has had lots of sponsors and hasn't got to many blisters .

Vera I don't know what we would do without son and dil's help at times ,he does things so much quicker than we would and as you say we do help them .

I forgot to say when we went shopping on Friday we were loading the conveyor belt when Colin dropped a pot of cream ,the top flew off and the cream splattered everywhere so we had to wait while this very happy chatty lad cleaned it all up, he said cream was the worst to clean up, as we came out the shop Colin said we'll it is Friday the 13th :-0 I didn't let him touch the replacement pot .

Ann hope you managed to get out early and get your errands done before it got busy ,we try not to go out on a sat as the world and his wife seem to be on the roads ,but on saying that we did go to see my sister and bil this morning as they had some wood they wanted to get rid of and we can use it for sticks for the fire once its chopped up , luckily where they live is not the side of town where the super markets are .

Good afternoon all

Are you all packed now AnnG? Is it tomorrow that you go? I think I remember you saying that your son lived in the Milton Keynes area. Have a lovely time.

Your son is good Mandy to do the different jobs for you but you seem to do lots to help them as well so it’s swings and roundabouts. It’s a good idea to get the chimney swept before the cold weather sets in.

Your bil is good as well Mel. It would be difficult for you to manage everything by yourself with all your mowing and pond maintenance.

I hope Gwyn’s daughter has managed her Thames Bridges Walk without too many blisters. I think it was about 25 km so it’s good that it hasn’t been sweltering heat. Was it in aid of a cancer charity Gwyn? I am sure that you told us but my memory is getting terrible these days..

My back seemed a little better this morning so I tackled the ironing. Not a wise decision! Now my back seems worse than ever. I did a couple of other small jobs, had lunch and had a shower but just couldn’t manage to sit on a stool and wield the hairdryer so my hair has had to dry in it’s own higgledy-piggledy way. I’ve only taken 1 pill today but I will probably need a couple later.

OH went out this morning to get some new black shoes to replace the ones we dumped in Vienna. He went straight to the Clarks shop as he always ends up there anyway. He finds buying his shoe size in Clarks extra wide fitting suits his foot and he got a nice pair of black lace ups. I didn’t ask the price but this is turning out to be quite an expensive holiday.

We have our friends M & V and another lady friend coming for tea and cakes tomorrow afternoon. I haven’t got time (or energy) to make any cakes so asked OH to buy a couple while he was out this morning. Bless him, he remembered but bought 2 the same. I was thinking a creamy cake and a plain one as not everyone likes the same but I’ve got 2 squidgy, creamy, lemon Swiss rolls. I’ll have to put out a few plain biscuits.

Well, I’d better move myself off this bed and start getting our meal ready. The older I get, the lazier I get and I find it hard to motivate myself, though once I get myself going I usually work quite hard.

Morning Friends,

Lovely bright sunny morning here too and its 13 degrees O its just gone up to 14 degrees as I was typing. Just the ususal shop to do today and BIL may come either today or tomorrow as he mowed yesterday but did'nt pick the cuttings us so now they have dried a bit they will be easier to pick up plus he did'nt mow last week as it was so wet theres lots of cuttings and it looks like hay fields when they have mowed.

You should have a nice week away at your sons Anng as I think this weather is supposed to last for a while. Lets hope so we've earned it.

Morning all,

Bright and sunny here but chilly, we've had the heating on the last two mornings to take the chill off but only for about an hour.
Tomorrow son is coming to sweep the chimney for us so I need to clear the room of some bits later today and get the plastic sheets in to cover the furniture .

Anng you did well to hear her with her having an accent and being soft spoken ,I hope once they have had their decussion you won't need any more treatment .
I forget where your son lives but I think all over the country should be quite nice next week ,should be dry so you'll be OK for trips out.

Good morning all and thanks for your comments re my appointment yesterday. It would have been better if I had had somebody with me to help understand what the doctor was saying, I am not sure what nationality she is. She is very nice speaks good English with a very strong accent and quite a soft voice. But I could hear her just not always pick out the words. As she drew a diagram, and as I have had dealings with BCCs before I got what she was saying. It will be better when/if I can see the surgeon again as, even though he is, I think, African he speaks perfect English.

It is 6 degrees here so a bit warmer than yesterday and is another lovely sunny day. I have packing to do today. staying with my son is very different from my daughter's, at hers I have a lovely big room and an en suite. son has a large 5 bed house but there will be four of them in situ as Grandson is going to be at home working from home so he can see me. That is lovely but one of the largest bedrooms is son's model railway room. I don't blame him for that I only visit occasionally. If only they took a look at the 'guest bedroom which is about 3 foot wider than a double bed and crammed with furniture which would be great if some or even one of the drawers was left empty for me to use. so I have to live out of the case for a week and hand trousers etc from wherever I can put them. And there are two en suites but grandson and I will share the family bath room. Having said that, if I can ignore thos aggravations they are all very kind and I know they will look after me and take me out so I should not really complain.

Lets hope all has gone well with the op and you don't need further treatment. Nasty place right on your nose so I do hope everything is ok now for you.

Been a lovely day here and BIL and I did both pond filters and he got the mesh strainer out of the top box and cleaned tht for me while I did my pond filter. I can't reach the top box to get that bit out.

I have been sent two picks of me at the wedding and I shall have to take a pic of them to show you. I look awful.

Ann no it was plain haddock baked in the oven. I love smoked haddock with broccoli or sweetcorn and new pots sometimes a poached egg.

Vera I am still putting my wheat bag on my knee at night and I am sure it helps.

It sounds as though your appointment was good in parts AnnG. I hope when the team have had their discussions you will not need further treatment. It is so difficult when the doctors have an accent that is hard to understand but it sounds as though you handled it very well.

You are lucky to have buses and ones that have the £2 flat rate. Recently I had to go to the hairdressers by bus before 9.30. It's 2 stops but my back was bad so I didn't want to walk. The bus is every 2 hours and it cost me £3 for those 2 stops. After I came out I had an hour and 40 minutes to wait for a bus back so I ended up walking home.

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I did the above bit of the post at 3 o'clock but we had unexpected visitors and I didn't get to finish it.

It was very cold overnight though I don't think it got quite as low as AnnG's temperature. It's been a fair bit warmer today, sunny with a bit of a nip in the air. We went and did a bit of grocery shopping this morning and this afternoon I managed just a short while in the garden but I am having a lot of trouble with my back and am having to take plenty of painkillers. I try to keep them to a minimum but I am having to take them, grit my teeth and get on with things or nothing will get done. I haven't attempted the ironing yet as that is one of the worst things for the pain.

We picked the right week to go to Vienna. Today the temp there is 9 degrees and there is heavy rain all day and for the next 3 days. This morning there was even a warning for snow and ice though I see that has disappeared now. It's a bit of a change from the 30 degrees or more we were getting a few days ago.

I'm now going to have a cup of tea that OH has made and go early to bed as I can sit up reading with pillows propped up behind me and a wheat bag against the most painful muscle. I hope the rest of you are tickety boo and all sleep well tonight.

That's good you were called in early for your appointment AnnG. I think if someone else is late for their appointment they call you in ahead of them, or sometimes I think the appointments before you have been dealt with quickly so they get on with people who are ready and waiting. I seem to remember there being a case meeting when I had my operation, so I hope it is soon so they give you another appointment. Hopefully you will get the full picture then and his thoughts may help you decide what's the best way forward for you.

Mel that sounded like a nice meal I would have liked as long as it wasn't smoked Haddock. You were lucky having a seaside caravan to go to. Apart from a daytrip when I was 4-5 I never saw the sea again till I was 15 and my friend's mum took us both to help clean their seaside chalts at Hemsby. I meant to ask whether you have seen any photos of the wedding yet? We want to see one of you there!

It warmed up here by this afternoon so I went out in the back garden for a few minutes and sprayed some more of the nasty weed that's spread on the the gravel. I't's like a tiny clover but I read that when the seed pods burst they can fire seed 16 feet! The washing soon dried and is put away and I did the rest of the food order for Sunday. OH did some work this morning and later walked up the close and posted some letters for me.

Early start tomorrow as we want to be at W H Smith down the road at 8.30am before the Saturday hordes arrive and fill the parking spots! We can then move to the far side that should be less busy and pop in Waterstones for OH to get a book he wants and have a coffee at Costa in there. Then fill my car up at Sainsbury's.

I got the 0928 bus which arrived 3 minutes early and I and several others handed over our £2 as it was not 0930.
Got to my appointment with 30 minutes to spare but was called in early.

the appointment was with the same doctor I saw when I had the dressing off. She is lovely, very quiet and gentle and but her English is not that good so I was reading (or listening) between the lines. I have to say, if I had not had biopsies for BCCs before I would have been lost.

firstly, despite the fact that she had requested me to make an appointment 2 weeks after the last one she seemed not to really know why I was there. However she had obviously read my notes before I went in and had them in front of her.

Apparently Mr Okonkwo had the result of the biopsy back and from what she said I have to guess it was a BCC, however (and he knew this) they are not sure that he had taken enough margin, although he did take some (I think they are covering themselves here) I know if he had taken any more there would be a big operation to rebuild my nose and he didn't want that. Apparently he has to go to some 'gathering' or other of all the experts to discuss it and come up with a solution if there is one. He will then meet me to discuss any options. I had quite a chat with Dr Nowghani and asked her if my nose was OK, Had the skin graft taken etc etc. She said it was very good, just one small part that needs to heal and as time goes on it will look even better.

I asked if the final decision was mine. She said definitely. So I pointed out that at my age operations are a danger in themselves (she agreed) and I would probably refuse an operation but I would wait and see what Mr O says when I see him. I think if a new one developed on that spot it would take a year or two.

I told her the two weeks I am away (she didn't write them down). I told her the problems with the booking office (she apologised) Apparently if I got what she said right, there are more patients than clinics. Hmm how about produce more clinics?

Anyway, I don't have to book the appointment with Mr O so I can sit back and wait for it to materialise (or not as the case may be). If by any chance I spot a problem on my nose I will chase him.

13 here now and sunny but it feels very cold.

Morning girls,

A bright morning here and BIL is here mowing. He woke me up coming around with the mower to fill it with petrol.

Its a massive 10 degrees here and pc says mostly sunny so I think I may do a bit of gardening today if it not too cold out as I am a bit achey tis morning.

It always good to know yuor children are home safely Anng and I hope thye had a good holiday.

Good morning all I have just watched the temp drop, it wa 3 degrees at 0615, dropped to 2 and now just dropped to 1 degree. Wonder if there is a frost, that will kill off some remaining plants if there is.

Up early as didn't want to go back to sleep. Actually woke just after four but dozed off and on until 0615.

Daughter got back safely from Santorini last night, always good to hear.

Just got in from having dinner out and got myself all undressed ready for bed. Tonight we had haddock roasted new pots and tomatoes with a sauce and it was very nice.

Its been quite cold today and with heavy showers so no gardening done once again.

Glad your home safe and sound Vera but what a todo at the airport with the passport machine. You should have gone through after oh if he was through ok. These machines for everything now dive you up the wall don't they. Iv'e never been abroad so I would'nt know about these things but I have been to Stanstead Airport many many years ago in my younger days we knew the couple who lived at the airport, can't remember what his job was but we did have a drive along the runway and under a plane that was taking off. That was an experience I shall never forget. He had to get special permission to do this. Of course the Airport was nothing like it is now and it was many years before they built the M25. The family who lived there had a caravan on the same beach as we had one. He had three daughters who I used to play with on the beach.

I had been doing a bit of family stuff on my tree today but I keep getting in a muddle. I seem to have lost it with all the families!!! Definately getting old. Going to watch a bit of telly now to relax before ging to bed. I think BIL may come tomorrow so want to be up early and have a tidy up.

I haven’t heard anything about the vaccine yet so not sure what is being offered when

It was the garden interest group and mainly today we had a talk on composting. Interesting to see what can go in the compost and how. I will have to start taking it seriously. We used to have two compost bins but I only have one now, I have slipped a bit with it the past month so had better get my act together.

Good to see you are home Vera! What a pain with your passport though. We've said before haven't we that things are fine when they work, but worse than ever when they don't. I bet you did feel chilly too as the temp has dropped here. A sprinkle of snow in Scotland today I heard.

I hope you had a nice get together at your meeting this afternoon AnnG. Was it gardening or photography?

This morning I meant to ask if anyone else over age 75 had been invited for the RSV vaccination? This is the first year it has been offered and is in addition to the covid and flu ones and is a one off.

Welcome home Vera. Hope you have acclkmatizec by now. That happened to me once with the passport checking things.

Just a quick post to say we are home. The taxi turned up early at the hotel so we were at the airport around 12.15, European time. Sailed through checking in our baggage and going through security and found a cafe where we shared a club sandwich. The only place Vienna airport appears to have any seating are at the boarding gates and you can't go down there too early. So we had to just keep wandering about till our gate number was showing on the board. When we got there most seats were already taken but a nice young man gave his seat up for me and there was one vacant nearby for OH. Boarding was half an hour later than scheduled and when we were all on board the doors were closed and we sat there and sat there....After another hour we were eventually cleared to go. We landed OK. Vienna is a capital city but compared to its airport Stansted is immense. From the plane we had to walk through corridors and up and down stairs to get to a shuttle train to take us to passport control! Once there we joined the faster e-passport queue. Well, it is faster if the machine likes you. Mine didn't :-( I had 3 goes and each time the machine came up with Remove Passport and when I had done this I got Try Again. After 3 attempts it gave up on me This time I got Remove Passport and Seek Assistance. OH had gone through another lane with no problems and was the other side of the glass barrier. I couldn't get out and he couldn't get back in so I shouted as loudly as I could over all the noise "Stay there. Don't move" and hoped he heard. Then I followed the assistance signs and came to a couple of police kiosks. Passport checked there and I was through but now some distance from where I left OH. Thankfully he had heard me and stayed put so I was able to find him. He told me that while waiting the taxi picking us up had phoned to find out where we were. The taxis use flight trackers but clearly the one our driver was using hadn't updated its website to log the delay and the poor man had been waiting just outside the airport since 4.30. We still had to get to baggage reclaim and get our bags but we had arranged that when we got outside we would ring him and then make our way to Zone B where he would pick us up. This worked OK and we only had to wait 6 or 7 minutes for him to arrive but I froze in that time. The temperature had dropped and there was a stiff cold breeze. Drivers always wait outside the airport till their passengers call because Stansted charge £7 just to drop someone or pick them up even if you are only 30 seconds. If you are more than 15 minutes the charge is higher.

Anyway we eventually got home sometime after 8 pm and by the time we'd done all the usual "getting home" things and had something to eat it was 9.30 pm and I was too tired to bother anymore. So today I've been doing loads of washing, putting things away and making a shopping list for the morning and checking on our neighbour's garden as she went away on Friday and we said we would look after her garden as soon as we got back.

This is a longer post than I meant it to be and now I had better get the rest of my washing in. I'm hoping to persuade OH to cook tonight as it's only eggs, bacon and oven chips so not beyond his capabilities and he hasn't done very much today.

Don't know if this would be any help Mel Amazon £12.99

Feitore Deer Fence Netting, 7 x 100 Feet Anti Bird Deer Protection Net Reusable Protective Garden Netting for Plants Fruit Trees Vegetables Against Birds and Other Animals

The main problem is not having a choice of times, with ENT it seems to be at their convenience. apparently they have sent out a letter. Obviously totally unaware that second class post takes longer than 2 days. I don't suppose the letter is important but I am going to email and ask for an email copy if possible.

Morning all,
Nice and sunny here but oh so chilly and we might get a few showers later.

Oh goodness Ann good job you moved your legs out if the way those scooters could do a lot of damage, a neighbour has one and she told me when she first had it she knocked a whole stand down in superdrug .

Oh Mel what a shame about your beans the little bliters will eat any thing .
I can remember you sending us a photo of your wonderful veg garden with rows and rows of veg ,did you have trouble with the deer then when you grew things .

Hope Vera got home OK yesterday ,I expect it will be washing day now that's the only thing after a holiday all the washing .

Anng hope your meeting goes OK is it the gardening club today.