General Chat

It is annoying though Annx is'nt it.

Vera hope you don't get too bigger bill for the car but at least you will know its safe to drive and it must be cheaper than a fresh car.

Vera we are due rain here the next two days and on Friday the map shows frost and snow and a high of 3 degrees!

Well done your granddaughter and her fiance is sensible encouraging her to take the opportunity to stay on in HK and help her career. Time flies and she will soon be back.
Oh my goodness, that wasn't the news you wanted about the car! Still it's best it is thoroughly checked over while they have it and it is partly stripped down anyway. Fingers crossed all will be well and you won't have to dig any deeper in your pockets. Yes, it's typical now you can drive, you have no car now! It's a nuisance your eye appointment has been cancelled though and I suspect your thoughts on the reason may well be right! Let's hope you get another fairly soon.

OH never got a letter either for his recent appointment Mel. I wonder if it is because the post is so late arriving now. they don't always send them.

I have not heard from the hospital about my Friday appointment so I rang them. Can't understand what to do on my phone. After twice ringing and thinking I had been cut off I waited and actually spoke to someone. She told me I have to go to Outpatient A for the restiritory test and then after that to the consultant. I think its going to take longer than we thought. Em is going to take me and her hubby is picking the boys up. I really would have thought I would have had a letter about the appointment as I did'nt now I had to see the consultant after the test.

I have tried the salt water but only once a day so will try it a few times during the day. I put raw salt flakes on it last night and Iv'e tried corsodyl.

I've found something that said my pension was with Mycsp before, but my old pension file is in a top cupboard and I'm not climbing on steps with this foot yet. It is funny it's gone full circle AnnG.

Mandy I got so fed up with all the languages taking up so much space I just cut the english bits out now and staple them together at a top corner and throw the rest away.

How nice your son came bearing gifts and all ones that I would like too! I do like new slippers as they feel so soft and cosy! The little Orchids sound nice and the Maltesers would always be welcome.

A dentist once told me that salt rinses were as good as any mouthwash for killing bacteria Mel, so it's what I do like Mandy's sister. Much cheaper than mouthwash too. I seem to bite my tongue in my sleep sometimes lately and find it feels bruised.

Today we had defrosted home made ready meals (chicken thigh in a chicken tonight sauce) and I found a small amount of frozen mixed veg to microwave and add and we had wholegrain rice with it.

I forgot to say that OH was told yesterday that they will refer him for physiotherapy as well. Now why didn't our surgery do that once he was diagnosed nearly a year ago? Luckily our small cost private payments covered the cost of some courses but he could have been paying for it all himself.

Good afternoon ladies (and gents if any are looking in)

It’s stayed dry so far today but not a gleam of sun anywhere and the computer is telling me it’s going to start raining again in about an hour. How much more rain can there be up there?

Oh dear Mandy, your poor OH ending up on the ground. I’m glad he wasn’t hurt and that your son was available to help him up. You won’t be using that chair again I’m sure. We did laugh at Jake shredding his shredder instructions. You had some nice presents from your family. I hope my card arrives in time. I wrote it meaning to post it and then it went right out of my head. Apologies if it doesn’t arrive by tomorrow.

You’ve been really busy sorting out your files and paperwork AnnG. We desperately need to go through ours but I’m struggling to find time to do them as I know it will be a long job. OH has more spare time but I don’t want him doing them on his own as he is a bit inclined to discard papers that I think should be kept.

It sounds as though the nurse was very thorough when she saw your OH Annx. My friend who self injects for RA can’t have live vaccines either. I hope G. found his talk with the nurse reassuring and his blood test results are good. I am glad your foot seemed a little better this morning. Let’s hope it continues to improve.

Sorry to hear you have a sore gum Mel. I was going to suggest salt water but Mandy has beaten me to it. OH doesn’t have dentures but his mouth does get sore and our dentist recommended him to rinse 2 or 3 times a day with salt water. It might help. If I doesn’t you could ring your dentist and ask him what he would recommend.

My energy and motivation seem to have flown out of the window lately and I am struggling to rouse myself to do anything very much. I still have some bedding to do but I have managed to wash everything else from our large, overflowing dirty washing box. I can understand the amount of clothing, particularly in winter when we wear more layers, but how can 2 people manage to get through so many towels, tea towels etc? Good job I don’t iron most of the stuff.

We had a nice afternoon yesterday with our friends. There was a lot of chat and the cakes went down well. While we were talking the Volvo workshop rang about our car. They had rung early in the morning to ask OH to explain as best he could what happened when he drove the car so they had an idea of what to look for. When they rang in the afternoon they said they could replace some part or other but there could be other things wrong which would involve taking the engine out and having a very thorough check. Did he want them to go ahead with this? He told them that he must have a reliable car so to go ahead. It sounds as though it is going to be a very expensive job.

I had a ping on my phone just now and it was a message saying I had a letter from the hospital and to look at it on the NHS App. I refuse to download all these different apps on to my phone but I have bookmarked the www. address on my PC so I can get into it easily there. The letter was saying that due to unforeseen circumstances they have to cancel my next appointment, which isn’t till 25th March. I wouldn’t mind betting that the consultant has decided to take a holiday then. I now have to wait for them to send me another appointment. I am wondering if I am ever going to get discharged from the eye department. I also had to laugh to myself – talk about s.d’s law. Now I have finally been cleared to drive and have got some glasses that I can see through, I haven’t got a car!

Had a text from granddaughter in Hong Kong today. She was due home end Feb/early March but has been offered another contract with Disney to stay in HK till mid-October, and has accepted. They must think she is worth keeping and it will look good on her CV when she is trying to get other theatre work. I asked her what her fiancé thought about it as it’s a long time to be apart but she said he is very happy for her and the money she can earn is very helpful as they are saving for a house.

Well, the towels in the dryer must be done by now so I’d better get them out and then I must decide what to do with the last of Sundays roast chicken. We had cold chicken and salad last night and, though it was nice, I don’t feel like the same tonight. I’ll have to get my thinking cap on.

No Mel I put it on high about ten in the morning and by three o'clock the meat was nice and tender, so five hours , I put a piece of foil under the lid as it gives it a better seal, after five hours I thickened the stock with a little bisto and cornflour and gave it another half an hour .

Could you try rinsing your mouth with salt water, Colins sister always you to say use a salt rinse we use asked her if she had shares in a salt mine :-D

I'm pleased your foot is a lot better today Annx. Hope it continues to improve for you. At the mo I have a very sore gum on the bottom lefthand side and my denture is rubbing on it especially when I eat. I thought at first I had got something under it that was hard but Iv'e been doing mouthwash and it dos'nt seem any better.

Its 11 degrees and pc says temp to drop on Friday.

Iv'e put the slow cooker on this morning with braising steak carrot, celery and onion and may add some peas later. I forgot to order broccoli and cabbage this week.but will ask Em if she will pout it on her order from tesco on Saturday.

Mandy did you say you had the slow cooker on low?

Afternoon all,

Another very grey day ,it did brighten up for a while but it was drizzling most of the morning .

Ann I'm glad your foot is a bit easier for walking ,these things do take time to heal .
Colin likes to push the trolley as that helps him go round the shop ,walking to far makes his back ache .

Son came this morning as he's busy tomorrow, Wednesday is the day he does rwo schools , he came with cards and presents which I opened while he was here , I had a lovely pair of slippers ,Malteesers and two little artificial orchids which are really pretty , I left the cards until tomorrow.

The thing I find with manuals is you get a big thick booklet with about five pages of English and the rest is all the languages in the world which you can't cut out as the booklet falls to bits.

We have the rest of the slow cooker stew for today that I cooked yesterday ,I've done some more veg and we're having nice jacket potatoes too.

pleased to hear that your foot is improving, if slowly ann.

I have just had a sort out of two folders in the file drawer. One of which was the Civil Service pension folder. Still kept a load I am not sure if I need to in this digital age, P60s going back about 15 years or so. Interesting to note that up unti 2014 my pension was administered by Capita, it then went to MYCSP and now we have gone full circle.

Morning All,

Dreary here too but at least it's dry at the moment. Couldn't get off to sleep with pain so I gave in and took a paracetamol at about 2.00am and soon dropped off. We were up quite early this morning to go for coffee and an egg and spinach cob and I was pleased when I got out of bed not to need to lean on it and hobble to start with, so it looks as if it's getting a bit better. We went to Sainsbury's for fuel after and to take the kettle we got back. The trolley was helping me walk so I got some stirfry and minced turkey but couldn't find the shampoo I wanted. Now for a nice rest and COT!

The pension saga does seem to have been badly managed as you say AnnG. I mean who would take on something without knowing the amount of backlog of work there was and if you had enough staff to cope with it. I'm glad I don't work there at the moment! I expect as the transfer wasn't complete till just over a month ago, they may be still using up some stationery with the old details on.

I am the same with instructions Mel and I often can't remember the next time something happens. You don't even get instructions with some things though and they just tell you to look online which isn't as easy and I have to print things off as it's much easier with a booklet you can flick back a page or two..

Morning all,

Dull and dreary so no change there then and it 9 degrees and cloudy.

Shopping comes today and I don't think there's any subs but we'll see when it arrives.
Apart from that as far as I know theres nothing else happening so I may do miniatures today.

Slept well had a strange dream got up once and back to sleep and another strange dream about workman coming.

good morning all dry and 7 degrees so about the same as yesterday. First half of the night sleep was not good, kept waking. but eventually was OK. Nothing planned except to follow the list in front of me. bedding is almost finished in the washer. Going to get some breakfast now.

Poor olin falling from the chair and I too think its time you got rid of it Mandy. I did laugh at Jake shredding the instructions!! I hate instructions as I read one bit then the next bit and by that time I have forgotten the first bit.

Ah, I am pretty certain I have had no correspondence from my Ps or capita since the beginning of December. Trouble is capita is on my mind for some reason but it might be my other pension. Looks like a turn out of another lot of papers tomorrow. Not that it matters as long as pensions come through. January’s is in the bank.
Read that link, what a mess they were left with. Some mismanagement somewhere.

I asked google AnnG and it suggests all civil service pensions are administered by Capita now since 1/12/2025 and it included MYCSP. Just google does mycsp still exist. Apparently the transition started in November 2023 and I'm afraid it seems to have passed me by somehow! OH knew about the data breach Vera has mentioned.

https://www.capita.com/news-and-insights/news/2026/civil-service-pensions-scheme-service-delivery-update

OH had a useful chat with the nurse and the x-ray was to check things like whether he had ever had TB, as the treatment, which lowers your immunity, can cause it to reactivate if so. He wouldn't be able to have live vaccines in future for the same reason and she said it was sensible to use hand sanitiser, but said the work he does and the kind of football he goes to shouldn't be a problem as there are no crowds to catch infections from! He had to answer a lot of questions and they took 12 samples of his blood for tests! The injections would be fortnightly and look easy to do and get sent to your address and need keeping in the fridge. So he has to wait and see the results next to see if he is suitable to try it.

Oh Vera join the club! It sounds like the early night, pills and wheat bag all helped your poor back. As you say being careful is the only option, but isn't it annoying having to move slowly, just when you are extra busy. I'm sure the cakes would be well received though and it's good planning to have some available in the freezer.

Oh no Mandy, Colin was lucky not to hurt himself , but he may have a few bruises after toppling the chair. I had to laugh at Jake and his shredder. He's learned a valuable lesson now hasn't he! :-D

I forgot to say when the shredder was mentioned that Jake bought a new shredder, he used it and then it jammed ,son told him to look at the manual........ I can't he said I shredded it :-D :-D :-D oh we did laugh :-D

Hopefully your OH will get a few things out of the way while he is at the hospital which could rule out more visits maybe. Hope all is well with him. And that your foot is not too painful after the driving.

I have just checked, my pension is no longer with Capita, when you were talking about it and Vera, I seemed to remember a change a couple of years ago. I am now with MYCPS. Yes it is actually called My civil Service Pension.

Mandy thank goodness Colin was not hurt, And a good idea to break that chair up so he can't use it.

It has been bright all day so far with some sun. I suppose I should have gone out in the garden and found things to do. But I got involved clearing the pile of stuff from the kitchen drawer, well not all the stuff, just the envelope with paper in. Anyway I have sorted it out and shreded all the out of date stuff. Some could go in recycling but a loy had name and address on. I still have paper with my two credit cards as I like to see what is happening without trawling on line so that was a lot of the shredding. Still it is done now and strangely I now have back ache. so I must have been sitting awkwardly. I also dod the monthly accounts, only 9 days late but done now..

Afternoon all,

Its 9 degrees here and very grey ,it was light rain when we got up so we were late going out yo stack the wood ,Colin has an old chair we keep in the shed to sit on and he fills the little barrows and I stack the wood from them , we were just finishing up to come in when Colin went back onto the chair and ended up on the ground ,no way could he get up as he can't get on his knees now so I had to ring son to come and get him up ,no damage done but I told him he's not to use that chair again as that's the second time it's tipped .

Ann sounds as though its not going to be a quick appointment for OH ,the blood tests can take a time and then the x Ray too .

Sounds nice to have riends round for tea and cakes so that should rest your chat and don't do anything to annoy your back.

Had a dig out of the pile of mud where the chickens go in their house it had built up quite a pile and I scraped mud off the paving slabs in front of the shed and outside the run the grass had grown over the paving slabs so I pulled all that up and put it in their run. They love to have a good sratch in that and find the worms.

It started to rain just as I went round to the girls and when I came back I had to get the washing in as it was blowing the rain onto the patio. Just going to iron those few bits now and then have a hoover and dust.

Good afternoon everyone

About 8 degrees and dry so far but no sign of any sun and computer is telling me we have another 4 rainy days starting tomorrow. I can't wait.

I hope your OH gets on well with the nurse at the hospital today Annx, and hope that your foot isn't too painful for the drive. I was interested to see what was being said about the pensions. It's dreadful that people can't retire as planned because their pension isn't organised yet. You mentioned your pension provider is now Capita. OH's pension was with Capita and a couple of years ago their systems were hacked and all OH's data, along with a lot of other people's, was stolen. You can imagine how much information pension providers hold on an individual so it was a worrying time. We are now in the second year of Capita paying a full sub to Expedia on our behalf so we can be warned immediately if any companies do a credit check on us which could mean that someone has applied for a loan or mortgage etc in our name. OH's company moved their pensions to another provider, Having said all that, this is probably the safest time to be with Capita as their cyber security will be extra tight now.

Yesterday my dodgy back muscle went into spasm again and by evening was so painful that I was in bed by 8 pm with pillows supporting my back and a wheat bag pressed on to the bad muscle. I was also dosed up to the eyeballs with pain killers. Thankfully it seems quite a bit easier this morning. I just have to be careful. Needless to say, I had a lot to do this morning. I've left most of the washing; I've just done a load of shirts and OH has washed the part of the downstairs tiled floors where the dogs had been in and out with wet paws. I managed a bit of hoovering as that didn't involve much stretching and bending. Now OH is getting us an early lunch as we have 4 friends coming for tea and cake this afternoon. I had intended making a cake but I ran out of time and energy so it will have to be shop bought. Luckily I've got a selection in the freezer so have taken out some jam tarts and some mini cup cakes.

I'd better go and tidy myself up and change out of the old clothes I'm wearing. Then we'll have this snack lunch. I've invited our friends for 2.30 but one of them is always very early and is likely to be here at about 2 pm. I'd like to be ready.