General Chat

I use specs for the computer and in the office but at home I rarely wear them. I wouldn't consider laser treatment as I am borderline type 2 diabetic [it's hereditary] and I have to have regular eye tests etc. Our youngest son at 3 years old developed cancer of the eye and had to have an artificial one fitted, he is fine now and is able to drive but at the time it was very traumatic as they weren't sure if it had spread to the other eye, we live quite near to the King Edward Hospital in Windsor who have really good eye specialists and he recovered really quickly from the operation. Needless to say this was the worst time of my life and my husbands.

Have you ever gone through a worrying time with your family?

It's funny that you say that Anne, my reply would have been exactly the same !

Our council had been Labour held for yrs, but took a battering last yr and they no longer have a majority !!
Tho they did whilst in office for the previous 3 yrs did do a heck of a lot for our ward, my friend and neighbour had his first and last term in office ! and they made major improvements to the children's local play areas and general things within the ward. He was labour and I voted for him,but local elections are different. He was paid a whack but I know he worked his socks off:)
No one can be popular with everyone.lol. Dave whom I'm talking about was born and brought up in the village he / we live in , I've lived here for 33yrs. I suppose it's like Marmite you either love them or hate them !
I found him great as a councillor , the person who knocked him out was our local Undertaker who was also born and still lives in the village but he stood as Independent.

Do you need specs to correct you vision , if so have you ever thought of Laser surgery .?

I am fairly middle of the road but having said that I would never in a million years vote labour, locally we have a very good council with not one labour seat held.

Is your local council supportive and popular with everyone ?

I'm a Libra, and yes am very typical of that sign..can always see both sides of the story and often find it difficult on which side to come down, despite weighing up the pros and cons.:)
Mum was also a Libra and in her words she would run with the hares and the hounds ! Cop out ! decisions have to be made.

Do you have strong political views ( don't want to know which side .lol) or are you middle of the road ..?

It depends on who I'm with,very patient with my granddaughters and the elderly, also open minded, you have to be working in the arts. Having said that I don't suffer fools gladly and people that dither really get on my nerves.


My star sign is Sagittarius and I am fairly typical of that sign. What is your star sign and do you relate to it's traits?

No , I sleep soundly until about 6.30 , then usually wake cos of a strange dream, I just try to go back to sleep to' finish' the dream.lol.
If I hear noises it's either dau or son going to the bathroom:)

As the saying goes 'do you not suffer fools gladly' or are you more open minded and patient..?

Well I have in the past got up and done some ironing after lying there and thinking for ages about all those shirts which I should have done through the day but always found another job to do instead ,I hate ironing.
or maybe went into the spare room to read a book or do wordsearch as my OH doesn't like me putting on the light, but then I worry about the lack of sleep and how am I going to cope the next day. always happens the night before an appointment or babysitting.


Have you ever been disturbed in the middle of the night, maybe from a noise outside and thought someone was trying to get into the house.

yes often although they are usually strange lol

what do you do if you find yourself lying awake in the early hours?

n

No, but I have very weird vivid dreams :)

Do you have dreams that you can recall the next morning .?

I have a brisk walk to work every morning and back home afterwards, We also walk our boxer dog in the Swinley Forest, part of which is very close to home.
When I arrive at work its then up 2 flights of stairs as the office is on the top floor of a grade 2 listed mansion house built in the 1700's and we are in what was the servant's quarters.
The house is haunted and there have been many sightings, the most haunted part is the area around the studio theatre where not very long ago they were performing an adults only play when one of the actors spotted 2 children in old fashioned clothes sitting in the back row, he stopped acting until someone went over to ask them to leave but they had then disapeared and no one in sight on the landing or stairs. They seem to be attracted to the theatre and have been recorded in the large modern WildeTheatre that is attached. Having worked there for 26 years there are so many mysterious happenings and there is a booklet published on them.

Have you had any unexplained or ghostly experiences ?

Not exactly,
But I was a Sec,Treasurer and Chairperson on our PTA for 12 yrs.
Always helped out in any school activities ,including the childrens outdoor ciriculum when I could.
I am going on a course next week for a Guide Walker for children and adults in our local Wildlife Park.

What do you do for exercise..?

Yes. but we used to go Eurocamping when the children were young. When we first went it was because we'd never camped before and everything is provided for you when you get there and the beds are more like real beds than camp beds. You only have to take your linen though you could hire that too I think. It was such a relaxing way to take a self-catering holiday, the campsites are a safe environment to give the children some independence and there wwere generally plenty of friends around to go off together with.

Later on we became scout leaders as our son's group was going to fold unless some parents stepped in. So of course we learnt about camping in a number of different styles depending on the purpose of the camp, backwoods, survival camps, group summer camps, and lightweight for hiking etc. Although we were leaders and you discovered you were exhausted by the time you got home, while we were there it was so relaxing, especially by the camp fire at night after the youngsters had turned in and you had time to just chat with the other leaders and helpers. We've moved away now and haven't got involved in our immediate locality but still go back to our old groups occasionally to help out on bigger camps. It's a nice way to keep up and slow down at the same time.

Have you ever been involved with any voluntary youth work?

Not now definitely, altho I thought of it in the past.
Eyesight is so precious. I now wear varifocals, for yrs my prescription was for short sighted only, when I hit 40 my near sightedness became an issue. Altho i still take my glasses off for computer work and to read the newspaper I cannot see very very small print e.g Hallmark on a ring or something very close. I have also been told I have a small cataract on my right eye ( I have no blurred vision) and was quite surprised when I was told that ; but apparently it is not unusual for someone with a family history of them, to develop them over the age of 40.
My son 21 who has never worn glasses only contact lenses is quite keen on it, but I'd look very hard into the cons before I agreed for him to have it.
I know he's an adult, but a young adult and he wouldn't think of the cons just the pros, and would probably want a bit of financial help towards it .lol
If I was convinced there would be no probs at his age I would pay for it outright !
I'm fine with glasses, there are so many fashionable ones about now, I've just bought 2 designer pairs ( just about covers the bags under my eyes,lol ) I now have 4 pairs which I alternate to suit my mood or clothing:)

Have you ever been on a camping holiday ?

I wear glasses when at home watching TV/computer, I should wear them all the time but am far too vain, Glasses really really do not suit me, am thinking about laser surgery, my son had it done earlier this year and truly recommends it.

Would you ever consider laser surgery?

I've always been the artistic performer, hubby the sportsman.
I found a newspaper cutting ( after they died ) that my dad / mam had kept ( bless them ) saying ' Postmaster's 5 yr old dau steals the show ' lol. I carried on singing thro my school yrs and won school Eisteddfods singularly and also with a group in the 5th & 6th forms, Then I lost my bottle.lol Couldn't do Karaoke if you paid me .Lol
But sing in a choir or in chapel, you hear me above everyone else:)
Dau isn't a confident singer but she took the lead part of the Angel in a Junior school production and had a standing ovation. I was in tears.lol...
Son is like his father, wouldn't have any thing to do with school drama etc, but excelled in sport. He always won the races in junior school, one yr he lost his shoe went back to pick it up and still won, every was screaming to him to leave it but he didn't .lol. Continued into senior school and represented the school in the county sports in the sprint and relay, came 2nd in the individual and their relay came first.

How good is your eyesight.? Do you wear glasses and or contact lenses ?

I started off with the ubiquitous recorder, but since Mum and Dad insisted I had a wooden one (it was rosewood) rather than the horrid plastic variety the sound was much more rounded. I taught myself to play and to read music and having mastered the Z cars theme with all my friends I went on to get pretty good if I say so myself. I ended up playing lots of renaissance and folk music which I think are styles that suit it best. I later took up the flute and clarinet and have played the fife and piccolo too. I could turn my hand to the oboe aswell if required.

At one stage I wanted to be a music teacher as I was always helping others in the choir or orchestra to improve their parts and my theory was good too. I did a series of exams outside school and got full marks in all of them. I'd had never had the requisite piano lessons so rather late I started those but was disappointed to discover I just could not manage it and you needed piano at least as a second instrument to get into any worthwhile university - not sure if that's still the case so that was that career scuppered. I became disheartened and slowly stopped playing my other instruments. Some got sold but I kept the flute, the recorder got given away by my parents thinking I didn't want it any more but I was very upset when that went. By the time they did that it was harder to find a wooden recorder without spending silly money, but I hunted one out and now have a pearwood one. From time to time I've had flashes of picking them up again (not lately) so with a lot of practice I'd be able to sound reasonable again. Mind you I've tried a clarinet on occasion and now can't work out the technique to even get a sound out of it. My son and daughter both had flute lessons at primary school, my son passing a few exams, though my daughter changed to the guitar fairly early on, so my flute still gets pulled out by them occasionally too. Daughter now has 2 spanish guitars, her own three quarter size, her grandfather's, a Fender acoustic she saw broken and dumped by someone's bin and knocked the door to ask for it which she had fixed and a Fender bass which she acquired from her guitar teacher. She doesn't play those often now either but she occasionally joins in with friends and can still play a particular tune she learned on her original one behind her head which she learned to do after OH told her about Jimi Hendrix. She did this in a school concert, taking the stage and sitting down all primly, then quietly lifting the instrument over her head. Brought the house down, but other parents knew it was all hubby's fault.

Do you have proud memories of your children's performances?

No, unfortunately.
Had to have my dog put to sleep about 4 yrs ago, he was a rescue dog we had for about 16 yrs( he must have been 18 and bless him he started fitting and I couldn't see him suffer) and haven't been able to persuade hubby to have another ...yet..still working on him.

Do you play any musical instruments ?

I have two granddaughters but I work full time so I can't baby sit during the week but they visit us every Sunday for Sunday lunch with their mum & dad.
They are lovely little girls aged 8 & 10 and after having three sons and no daughters it was lovely to have them.

Abbie & Becky love our pets, a boxer and two cats,
Do you have any pets?

I like to listen to 'Talk' radio while I am ironing which is usually twice a week, I also like a glass (or two) of red wine when cooking Sunday Lunch. I work every other weekend so hubby cooks on those weekends

When you have grandchildren, would you be willing/available to look after them several times a week?