General Chat

Morning all,

Dry at the mo but I exspect it will rain later.

Just taking a pill and then getting ready for the dentist. Em is going to take me which is great as I don't have to worry about the car starting when I come out of the dentists. I was so frightened I would get stuck in Torrington.

Hope you all slept well and aare all bright eyed and bushy tailed! He he he.

Yes we enjoyed our lamb shanks thank you. We buy the packs of ready cooked ones from Asda. You can buy single ones too and I think they are bigger than the ones in the twin packs. We had onions, cauli, broc, cabbage and carrots with ours. I couldn't have managed your lovely sounding pud as well though Vera.

I have been trying to grasp what is happening with the BBC iPlayer too. I thought your tablet wouln't be affected Vera, as the app for that won't change and is the mobileplayerapp, the same as for mobilephones. The info and different reports are utterly confusing aren't they. It appears that a FEATURE of the Downloads APP for laptops and desktop PCs will be removed and will mean people can no longer download or save programmes etc on them to play later when they are offline with no internet. Otherwise we can carry on watching iPlayer programmes on our laptops and PCs as normal.

Enjoy your lamb shanks ladies. That's one of my favourite dinners though I admit I struggle to get through a whole one. At the moment I feel bloated having just eaten a large dinner - beef pot-roasted with onions, yorkshire puds, roast pots, roast carrots and parsnips and steamed broccoli, and gravy with a good slurp of port. We followed that with apple strudel and cream and a cup of tea. I may never be able to move again.

I've now just read online that it is only BBC iPlayer on desktops that is being stopped and that phones or tablets with IOS 15 or above will still be able to get it so I think the person who told me early on that I wouldn't be able to get it on my old iPad was correct. I wish these organisations would just issue one clear statement in plain English so we all know what we are doing.

OH asked a short while ago if I want to go for a walk to the river to see if we have ay cygnets but I was in the middle of something that I couldn't just leave so I had to say no. He very huffily said he was going anyway and stomped out. With luck, the wind will blow away his grumps.

snap I have lamb shank tonight as well Ann. that will do me two days, I can't eat a whole one, too much meat. the remainder will go in a stir fry tomorrow. I have done the veg sprouts and purple sprouting broccoli. I will do asparagus just before eating, I managed to get some English which is good. I might do some potatoes in the air fryer or I might not do any at all.

I haven't done a lot today, read the mail on line, changed the bed and washed the bedding and written a letter to a friend then messed around on here. Time soon goes. when you are looking at different sites on here.

Afternoon All,

Patchy sun today and still some wind, but not as bad as in the night.

Thanks for putting the link up about the table Gwyn. I don't know why but it seems to have passed me by about the table. It's amazing they could make such a huge table from it after 5,000 years, but they must have a big transporter for it when they move it and oak is a very heavy wood to carry as well.

Yes Mandy, the match must have been just like blow football mustn't it! :-D Apparently there were a few goals for him to see, so he enjoyed it.

I decided it was too windy outside to do any gardening, so just did the veggies to go with our lamb shank lunch. The children are back at school tomorrow, so OH has suggested we eat out at the carvery. I'm getting a bit fed up of the time I spend in the kitchen lately and it will be an opportunity to go to the factory shop nearby and see what nighties they have as well as the new stock they seem to be getting in now.

I need to put our house number on the new garden bin, as we need to put it out on Tuesday and OH wants his hair cut as his meetings will start this coming week. There are always jobs to be done aren't there! In fact the sun's out now, so I'll go and put the numbers on. OH offered to do it, which is good, but he'd probably put them on upside down or like the leaning tower of Pisa! I'll swap a job with him, he can get me a COT. :-D

I'd forgotten about the table. There was a lot on the News about it at the time and I remember being disappointed that we weren't able to go and see it. I think it has been at Rochester for about a year and I gather it's going to Lincoln Cathedral next.

It's sunny on and off today but it doesn't feel as warm as yesterday and it's even more windy. I don't think there's going to be much blossom left on the crab apple by the end of today. Don't think I'll be getting any gardening done either.

Oh dear Mel, your bil does seem to be a bit heavy handed with your mowers. It's good of him to come and cut the grass for you but not much help if he regularly damages a mower.

I am not feeling very happy at the moment. I was told around Christmas time that BBC iPlayer wouldn't be supported on my old iPad for much longer and that was one of the reasons OH bought me a new iPad. Now I find it's actually closing down completely - TOMORROW! I use it all the time. We don't have TVs in the bedroom and anyway OH and I don't want to watch the same things. Apparently I'll still be able to stream stuff through the web but I've now got to find out how to do that and it's another hassle.

I'm pot roasting a piece of beef brisket for Sunday dinner. It's not my favourite meal but OH likes it. I'll just have a little bit of meat and lots of veg.

Enjoy the rest of your day and good luck at the dentist tomorrow Mel and AnnG.

I think that table is a bit too big for my dining room Gwyn.

Morning everyone.
Yesterday was so dull and quite chilly, especially when the wind got up later in the day. It howled all night, but at least we have sunshine this morning, so it is possibly a touch warmer today. Yesterday was really chilly, even though high temperatures were forecast.
Lots of bluebells out in our garden and elsewhere and the ornamental cherry trees locally are showing their blossom. We often seem to have windy days after they bloom, as I can remember the children going out of the door and saying
"Oh, it's snowed pink again!" when all the petals had blown up on the grass.

I don't know Suffolk, but have a friend who moved to Ely a couple of years ago. Your posts reminded me of the table, which had been displayed there

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-61407297

Later the table came to Rochester Cathedral in Kent, where my daughters and I went to see it.
Incredible to think how old was the wood.

Yeah sorted that one Mel, just my brain merging the two.

Good morning all, dry at the moment and bright and sunny and 12 degrees. no doubt it will cloud over and just be completely grey like yesterday, although we didn't have any rain yesterday. Might mow the lawn if it is long enough, just a five minute job these days, takes longer getting the mower out and putting it away than mowing.
Nothing else to do except the monthly accounts for March are still waiting for my reluctant attention.

O I meant to say about the Cathedral being in Ely and not in St. Ives as we used to go to both places for a ride out in the car when we lived in Suffolk. We also went when my former BIL was going to buy a garage in Ely but he diud'nt in the end.

Morning all,

Dll and dreary here at present but I am hoping it will brighten up a bit. I need sunshine to get me on the move. Pc says 10 degrees and mostly cloudy with wind so thats not very promissing. I do wish this awful weather would stop and we have some nice spring days but it seems to just be ceasless rain and wind. Its so depressing.

Anyone doing anything nice today. I am going to wash my hair ready for the dentists tomorrow.

Ah sorry, we must have visited the two places the same day and, yes it is Ely that has the cathedral. Brain confusion again. :-D

Yes, I've been to that St Ives as well. It's a lovely market town on the river but are you sure it's got a cathedral AnnG? I could well be wrong and maybe it does have one but I don't remember seeing one there and googling didn't show a cathedral at St Ives. I wondered if you were maybe thinking of Ely which isn't all that far from St Ives and does have a lovely cathedral. I've been there several times. It's known as "The ship of the fens".

I needn't have panicked when OH asked for gardening books. All he wanted to do was find a plant name he'd forgotten. I felt very relieved when he told me :-)

I have been to St Ives in Cambridgeshire too but many years ago now and I have also been to the one down here. I bought my ponys bridle in St. Ives whilst on holiday with mum and dad and it cost me £5.00. I had a friend with me on that holiday and mum got Laryngitis and had to have the doctor out and stay in bed for most of the holiday. Sassie and I went out together every day. It was in September as dad being a builder had a quiet time then. I remember dad ordering the YORK ham for a dinner. It was the way he said it. I can't remember what we all had only dad. It was the Chy-an-Albany hotel. Funny the things that stick in your mind.

Sounds like DIL had a lovely day Mandy, I hope you passed all our wishes on to her.

Yes I have actually been to that St Ives. It has a lovely cathedral and is actually a city.

Evening all,

It's been a bit windy here today and not as warm as they said it would be ,it was suppose to have been 20 degrees but even with the little bit of sun we saw it was nowhere near 20 degrees.

Dil was pleased with her presents and we had a good chat over coffee I don't think we will see them tomorrow but they did say they would come one day next week to put the canopy on the gazebo.

Vera are you any good at knots I think I would tie those secateurs on a piece of string in the shed and just long enough to reach the garden path and not the garden then you wouldn't have to worry about Mr crewcut doing any damage :-D

Ann I swear they hold post back we had a lot the other day and they were saying on the news the other day about all the appointments that were missed because of the post not arriving in time .
So it was a bit like blow football at the match OH went to ,all that was missing was the straws lol

That's right AnnG! I didn't even realise there was a second St Ives till he told me. He said the wind made it an interesting match as no-one could tell where the ball would blow.

The Peacock butterflies are obviously out and about now Vera with both you and AnnG seeing them, but just not in our garden. I had an inspection of the Hostas again but couldn't see any snails and I haven't noticed any ladybirds yet either, but you are further south than me so might see them sooner. You did well to get a bit done outside as it's been a nice day and not cold. My back is a lot better today so I might do a short stint in the morning if it's dry. You'll have to keep an eye on Mr Crewcut if you see him with the secateurs. ;-)

We ended up with a Daily Mail delivered instead of our local paper this morning and we already had a DM. The local paper is discounted and paid by direct debit so OH will have to ring them on Monday to get a refund.

We had a great pile of post today and think some had been held back for over a week as OH gets a weekly request to buy something from one of them and had two letters from them today. It's not really good if you are waiting for something important. I can see a man turning up to mend our front door lock before we get the appointment to say he is coming.

St Ives Cambridgeshire??

Yes personal first hand knowledge is great. That is if she is interested of course.

Vera I took it that, although she couldn't read and write until she was 15 (I think), she was able to paint and illustrate plants and shells etc and that is how she published when her painting were seen. But, yes a good story. Yes Kya was her shortened name.

You were busy in the garden then, We have wind but not as bad as promised. I think they said it would be calmer and a nicer day in the South East.

Sounds as if OH is enquiring about pruning.

Just getting settled in to my miniatrues and BIL turned up and said he was going to mow.

He did a bit and then came down here to tell me the mower had gone wrong again. Its not a wonder when he drives over all the fallen branches and twigs off the trees. Now he hs los a nut from a pulley that maakes the deck mow so now no tention on the belt. Well I can tell you theres tention on me!!!!!!!!!! Its just one thing afteerr another the way he drives the mower. He won't cut it long and then a bit shorter next week no he has to shave it down to the roots. Its just not good for the mower. In all the time oh mowed our lawns he never had this much trouble with the mower.Now its parked outside oh's workshop where I keep the chickens food and he put it right in the middle of the road so I had to ask him to back it up to the other door so when Asda come they can turn around.

Moan over but I hav'nt done anything to my miniatures which is so annoying.

Afternoon All,

Very windy and I can't believe it's 18 degrees here! I got quite hot and bothered just changing the bed. OH has gone to a match at St Ives, but not the one in Cornwall.

AnnG having looked at some photos of hen backbirds I think that is what it is. Some of the hens in the photos have much more tan colour on their fronts. I just read a little about the book you mention and it sounds good, but quite a sad story.

I remember weekends being very quiet on my own. I think it's more noticable when everywhere, except at home, is busy with people not being at work.

On Ancestry last night I found one of my grandmother's gt gt granddaughters descended from my eldest uncle born in 1899. I thought she may not know much about her gt gt grandmother and father or their lives when I knew them, as my uncle was married with 5 children by the time my mother, his sister was born. I'm going to ask her if she she knows anything and if not, I shall write some memories down and send them to her. Things about their house, work they did, what they wore and ate and my grandmother's muddling of words like calling ointment ornament. How I would sit in a large galvanised bucket at grandma's to be washed after playing out, so mum wouldn't know I'd got dirty and tell grandma off! They are the sort of things you won't find on FH sites.

I'm going to order some of the jeans I wear next. They have gone shockingly up in price like everything else has, but are half price at the moment, so a saving too good to miss. I don't have to turn them up either which makes a change.