Life outside Ambridge
Our moorhen invited a friend over to play
Life in Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
Starter kit for Ed & Emma
Life in Ambridge
Nothing to do with the current story-line but rather cute
Sarnia March 12, 2023 at 2:45 PM
ReplyDeleteWe get egrets on the banks of the Hamble, although I haven't been able to get there for years.
One year Mr S decided to get himself some binoculars and got very excited on one of our walks, about an egret perched on a post in the water. It seemed to me to be an extremely stationary egret, but not wishing to spoil his enthusiasm, I said nothing. He was so disappointed to discover that was an old plastic carrier bag caught on a branch.
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ArcherphileMarch 12, 2023 at 3:07 PM
We often see Egrets close to the watercress beds at Arlesford.
I was amazed first time we saw one, but now it’s a very common experience. I think they like the boggy ground and many little rivulets feeding the beds.
AmbridgesMrsPMarch 12, 2023 at 3:48 PM
ReplyDeleteWhen my daughter had the house at Seaview on the IOW there were two that came to the beach throughout the year. They always looked so lonely but seemed to be very happy there.
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Cheshire CheeseMarch 12, 2023 at 5:24 PM
Bird wise just the usual suspects for me in the garden at the moment, but I did see my first bumble bee of the season today when out for a short walk.
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OldWomanInAShoeMarch 12, 2023 at 6:07 PM
I seem to have suffered my first attack of Disappearing Post Syndrome!
I posted earlier to thank you Miriam for your latest listening recommendation, Closed to Visitors.
Your picks are invariably great finds, so I shall look this one up when I've finished listening to the Lives Less Ordinary podcasts (which make my Life Very Ordinary in comparison!)
Well done on the picture KP. A few weeks ago we saw a moorhen on our small garden pond dabbling around with the two goldfish. Not at all sure how he found us, we are a long way from from a river!
ReplyDeleteNo ponds or rivers close to us but they seem happy paddling in the bird bath
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they will form a pair and fly away to a river to nest, or whether they might nest in your garden shrubs which they apparently can do sometimes. You might end up with fledglings learning to swim in your pond!
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should buy a paddling pool!
Delete😃 🦆 🦆 🐥 🐥 🐥 (nearest I could get to a moorhen!)
DeleteWe get egrets here as the tide goes out at the creek leaving mud flats. They like grubbing around for worms in the mud. I have occasionally seen the heron down there and frequently loud honking announces a flight of geese overhead. The usual viewing is of multiple seagulls leaning into the air currents! There is a pair of swans who about 4 years ago raised 7 cygnets to adulthood. They have not had offspring since so maybe they decided enough was enough!!
ReplyDeleteRaising 7 offspring at once is enough to put anyone off, regardless of species!
DeleteLovely sunny day to lift the spirits.
ReplyDeleteOne of those moorhens has worked out that it can perch on top of the squirrel deterrent to peck at the seeds. The pheasants on the other hand just strut around underneath & barely move when we go outside to scatter seed ( we’re indulgent bird watchers)
After months of fairly deep depression I finally managed to drag myself to the hairdressers today.
ReplyDeleteHaving not had a haircut since last November I resembled a shaggy grey bush.
It’s surprising how much being trimmed and styled and having a sympathetic ear listening to your woes can cheer you up.
I have emerged with totally silver, short layered hair. All the greying/ pepper & salt/blond stuff is lying on the salon floor and I look very different.
I notice a slight, but definite lifting of mood. And the sun helps a lot.
Onwards and upwards hopefully Archerfile
DeleteI’ve ventured out for a bit of tidying up in the garden over lunch time. Bright but absolutely freezing. Just needed a bit of fresh air I think.
ReplyDeleteI’ve finally succumbed to getting some prescription pain killers for my arthritic hip. I’m sick of limping about with a stick. Haven’t been proper dog walking in over a year. This morning I heard about a lass that was a couple of years below me at school that she has died from breast cancer. She leaves 3 kids. Goes to show you don’t know when your time is up, so I’ve decided to go to have a private consultation on my hip to see what options I’ve got. The thing is Mr PtbY is older than me and wants to go on holiday and see places and I can’t walk to do that. He’s as fit as a fiddle. But by the time I’m old enough to go on a nhs waiting list he might be too old to go and do things he wants to do. So I’m going to take control of things.
I know just how you feel PtBY!
DeleteI would agree with that. I bit the bullet and used savings for my knee replacement at our local private hospital in February 2020.
DeleteJust as well I did because Covid struck the following month, so I would probably still be waiting for the NHS.
Mine were done privately as well. They do a bargain package - operation + 6 weeks' physio. Father-in-law's inheritance for a rainy day.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above, if you can get fit do so and enjoy life while you can. MrNuts & I have started discussing where we really want to go over the next few years wile we are able to do so. We are both fit & hope to have a good few years but no-one knows what lies around the corner.
ReplyDeleteHow very sensible KP. Wish I could get Mr A to do the same. I ( and both our children) have very clear ideas about what we should be planning as a couple as we closely approach our 80s but can I get him to take things seriously? No. He just thinks we can maintain the status quo ad infinitum! And most infuriatingly, changes the subject when I try to bring it up!
DeleteHe's not related to Mr S by any chance, is he? Mind you're not left with a mountain like mine to climb!
ReplyDeleteWell done PtbY .
ReplyDeleteJust go for it.
You are nothing like as old as I am but my sons have told me to spend my money and I have decided to do that.
Some years ago Ii changed my dentist and went privately..
I can't remember now what I have paid out but it has been worth every penny.
Old habits do die hard though.
I still go to Iceland on a Tuesday-not every week- to get my 10% discount .
It helps pay for the taxi which takes me there.
PTBY (HIP) OTHERS FEEL FREE TO PASS BY
ReplyDeleteHow long has your hip been a problem for you? IE have you been through the Dr / x.ray / physio route already and it’s now a matter of the length of the NHS list you are on?
9 yrs ago this Summer after presenting with hip pain and following an x.ray I was advised a hip replacement might be needed by my Dr and would be worth a thought. However the Consultant I was given an appointment with happened to be Mr R’s ( and still is see him on the 27th - 13yrs this year!!) As a result I had 3 hip injections by him, one a year which helped me. However that was the limit, and even they were difficult to fit in as Mr R had complications of his own at those times including sepsis. Said Consultant then dropped hips to concentrate on knees only, especially extremely complex cases, passed me on to a super colleague who monitored me for a couple of years. X-rays have always shown bad wear but what I have been able to continue to do has belied this. So with - until recently more ups than downs and no sticks life has continued. However chicken or the egg because recently when I started statins I started having almost daily problems pill was changed and slightly better. However after statin phone conversations asked to go into surgery for examination - result waiting for x.ray. When the time comes I may go down the pay route but this will have to include Mr R joining me for respite care for a week or so as he could not help me as young in heart and mind as he is, he is still a number of years older than me and I will not be apart from him now at this time in our lives. The Dr fully understood this.
I am doing 6 exercises 5 times each every day currently to assist keeping movement going and building the muscle. I am fortunate weight wise which I guess helps a little, 5’4” & approx 9st 6lb
Anyway that’s my saga will be interested in your to date story - if you have read this far 🤣
Hip started 18 months ago. I thought it was just a strain after lugging stuff about moving house and decorating etc. Had an ultrasound booked through drs but by the time that came through (5months) it was much worse and I was using a stick. Lady saw nothing on ultrasound and advised I lose some weight. This is impossible though since having all my thyroid probs and subsequent removal. A good 2 1/2 stone gone on in last 3 years since thyroid out.
DeleteHad an x-ray end of last year and have moderate arthritis in right hip. Stage 3 out of 4.
I’m 55 so nothing would be considered before I’m 60 and you have to be 4 out of 4 for hip replacement option.
I don’t want to be on pain killers for such a length of time. Mr P is 68. We want to be able to enjoy life while he’s able to do everything.
My mother had bad hips and knees so I expected arthritis but I thought I’d have at least another 10 years before it would start.
P tbY.
DeleteI find it very sad that you are unlikely to be considered until you are 60 .
Surely the earlier something like that is treated the better it is
However if that is the case it is even more important for you to get that private Consultation booked as soon as possible.
All the best.
Wow PTBY what a blow to be in your situation so young. Although I have heard of another family where knees are a family issue and both son and daughter had knee replacements in their 50’s because of it. Of course the main reason to delay as long as possible is the amount of revision surgery ops that will be needed the younger the patient and those can be a different kettle of fish so to speak. Having said that my neighbour has had her knee replacements for over 20yrs since she was in her early 60’s! I wish you well with a Private Consultation a very wise move.
DeleteThat's complicated, Lady R. I feel for you and share your concern.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sarnia.
DeleteI have just read your comment Lady R .
ReplyDeleteIf I may say ,without hopefully sounding patronising, I wish you the all the very best because you certainly deserve it.
You are in my opinion the most thoughtful of contributors to the blog.
You remember everyone's birthdays and even other sadder dates.
You don't complain even though you have obviously been in some discomfort for a while .
Well done to you for doing the exercises.
I have been told by a physiotherapist friend that I have fallen arches (flat feet) which had it been 80 years ago and hadI been a man I would not have been called up to fight in the War.)
My son told me that cycling is probably the best thing i can do to improve my mobility.
I got rid of my bike a few years ago because the roads are too dangerous for me to cycle at my age
Yesterday I took delivery of a large parcel.
I will not be getting flowers on Mothering Sunday from my sons but I HAVE got an exercise bike!.
That’s wonderful Lan Jan, what a really useful and thoughtful gift.
DeleteWhen I saw the consultant about my hip (one visit to GP, got the referral) the first thing he said was loose weight (was 17 stone at the time!!!) and take exercise, either swimming or on an exercise bike. Our local health authority won’t finance a hip op unless you are under a certain weight.
So the first thing I did was get the bike, and I still use it today, well, most days.
And of course I set about loosing the weight, which I did after 18 months. The hip getting worse all the time was a great incentive.
One tip I have about using a bike is to either put it where you can watch TV while cycling, or like me, hang your iPad or tablet over the front of the bike and watch a programme you enjoy when exercising. It makes the time go much more quickly and a half hour programme is exactly the length of time I can manage. (It was 5 minutes when I started 😁)
My daughter listens to her favourite music or does French lessons via earphones when she is cycling
Lanjan, thank you so much for your very kind thoughts and words they have meant a lot.
DeleteI am now going to be in awe of you a Mothering Sunday gift of an exercise bike - wow that is impressive. Look forward to hearing all about your progress. I wonder what your feline company will make of it all….
Archerphile - obviously when we met you had lost that weight I certainly can’t recall you looking anything like the weight you have stated here.
Agree with all that. We had nowhere to put an exercise bike so we bought a turbo trainer and hitched up my road bike to it.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness what an inventive and healthy band of bloggers you are, putting my small exercise routine to shame 🙃 I am also trying to get a regular walk around most days as otherwise I am on my posterior far too much chair, car and bed as side sleeping not so good right now. I had to do this after I had a detached retina op a few years ago in fact upright at all times for a week, managed ok though.
DeleteI’m very sorry to hear that PtbY is needing hip surgery so young.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is I understand that the younger the patient the more likely yet another replacement is needed as that patient ages and the first replacement fails.
I too have seen the musculoskeletal professional today.
After discussion with him in December he referred me for a scan with a view to have guided steroid injections. I was impressed with the speed of the appointment for the scan, but not at all impressed that it has taken three months to get a report.
I had one guided injection in Gloucestershire after the first lockdown, but the combination of covid and then moving to another health authority,has meant that I have had a considerable wait before being able to continue any treatment
The result shows that I have extensive arthritis in all parts of my ankle plus soft tissue damage from a previous break. That break was of course when I slipped when at my daughters and my leg shot out and broke the tip of the bone on the outer side of my ankle. That was the occasion when my daughter poo poohed my fall saying categorically that I had not broken anything.
I have another appointment on Saturday with the ortho team in Taunton and will be able to discuss what future treatment would be best.
At the moment I favour further steroid injections with a view to a new ankle further into the future. At least I am now able to understand the pains I experience having seen the extent and the position of the arthritis.
I do so sympathise Mrs P. Arthritis is an absolute curse and it’s strange so many more women suffer than men. I have been offered steroid injections into my shoulder joint for the pain I have been having, but was told it is very painful and to hold off if I can.
DeleteMy arthritis is progressing from hip, to knees, to shoulder, wrists and thumbs. I can no longer knit, chop food or open bottles and jars. My fingers have become distorted and my hands look really ugly as I can’t straighten all the fingers.
Why does old age have to be so disagreeable?
But I really hope you are able to get the treatment you need and will find relief soon, 🥰
Not at all strange, AP. What with extra weight pressure, drains on calcium and hormonal changes, pregnancy plays havoc with the system, especially the pelvic girdle. To say that the female anatomy is supposed to be purpose built for perpetuating the species I've always considered it to be very badly designed.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry everyone is having problems with health. Old age - rubbish!
ReplyDeleteDriving just last week, but very carefully as I haven't driven for months and months! Just to Cubs and then to wound clinic where they dressed my legs on Tuesday. Once a week since August, so Jon has re-arranged work to take me there. So little by little I am getting back to the life I knew!
Still have trouble with words though! Every report from school says 'I talk too much' but now I am carefully choosing the words I need to say Then I forget them, Very annoyed!
I have one pupil, brother of another child I taught five years ago. And I have contracts for exam marking this year, Shakespeare and 19th century novel, then English for foreign speakers. So shall be busy all summer. Better stop raining so I can make garden tidy before May though.
love Spicy x
Nice to hear from you spicy. I was just thinking of you the other day wondering how you were doing with your eyes. Sounds like you are doing much better if you are driving again. You certainly deserve to be on the mend after all you’ve been through. Thank goodness for Jon. He’s certainly a credit to you.
DeleteWe desperately need some warm weather so you can venture out into the garden again.
Fingers crossed your improvement continues at a pace. Sending good vibes for it and best wishes. 💐
Lovely to see you here you again Spicy. And to hear you have been driving and doing some of the things you love. You are very lucky to have such a caring son looking after you. He sounds worth his weight in gold!
DeleteKeep getting better and enjoying life
Agree with AP 100% Spicy 🤗
DeleteWell done Spicey!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely surprise to see your monicker here again Spicey and even better to hear that you feel your health is improving. Looking forward to be hearing more frequently from you.
ReplyDeleteARCHERPHILE - you would have appreciated seeing me last night, desperately trying to open a new jar of jam. By my own hands or with my implement I couldn’t budge it. I eventually put it in a pan of hot water and finally managed to open it.
Like you I too have arthritis in my neck as well as my spine ( which nevertheless has held me as upright as possible despite a double scoliosis for 80 years ) and my hands and now feet. Fortunately my hands are not too distorted but have been very painful and stiff for over twenty years now. I did have a wonderful hand therapist in Stroud who was able to make hand and finger guards for me, but I am guilty of not doing all of the exercises to keep my hands supple.
Fortunately I do not seem to have any problems so far with my hips, and I do sympathise with those of you who do have dodgy hips.
Don't know whether you have tried this but to get jars open when I can't twist them, is to bang a knife handle quite firmly on the rim of the jar. It then twists off. Probably some sort of air lock or something but haven;t been mouldy yet!
ReplyDeleteRayburns can be handy. When jars are hard to undo I turn them upside down on the Rayburn and the heat expands the lids making them easy to open.
ReplyDeleteLots of good ideas there. I do have a little gadget that you can use to release the vacuum in the jar with, but it doesn’t fit some lids.
ReplyDeleteMy solution is usually Mr A, even if I have to go and find him in the garden or take the jar up to him in the bath! 😄
I have a gadget that releases the vacuum which works on most jars and find it very useful.
DeletePleased to see you are commenting again.Spicycushion.
ReplyDeleteRe the exercise bike......
It is nothing special .It is very small I sit on a chair and just turn the wheels.
No handles or anything.
There is a computer thing that tells me something about calories which at the moment says 114.6 .
It means nothing to me.
I am using it at the moment as I write this comment on my IPad
Trouble is I can't use it when Percy is on my knee.
Yesterday afternoon I realised my heating wasn't working.
I pay extra on my house insurance to have emergency call outs .
It is a mere fraction of the cost of the House Insurance .
I telephoned the Company and they said they would send someone before 3pm today.
(I always play the old lady card )
Two very pleasant engineers have just left .
The more senior one was telling me that their Company deals with most of the Home Insurers
Hopefully all sorted.
It is far ,far cheaper than paying each month for British Gas
Re jam jars .
I have always poured boiling water round the rim.
Jars. I stab the lid with a sharp knife and cover the hole with cling film.
DeleteI use a corkscrew to pierce the top of a jar if I can’t open it.
ReplyDeleteJust rereading the comments.
ReplyDeleteI am not one for pills but do take some supplements like Vitamin D
Is anyone else like me taking glucosamine sulphate tablets?
Supposed to be good for arthritis
It was recommended for me years ago but it gave me the trots.
DeleteThe evidence for glucosamine working is doubtful.
DeleteDefinitively not recommended for anyone suffering from IBS - the trots +++ !
DeleteI take vitamin D and vegetarian ( so that son could try them as well) from algae omega 3 supplements. Also have recently bought some nutraquin (omega 3s from fish oils) as advised by the vet for Bella cat who jumped from too high a tree when younger and now has some arthritis in the base of her spine. Huge capsules that no way will she swallow. They have a powder inside that can be sprinkled on food but then she turns her nose up at it. I have tried it in several foods with no success. Once I persuaded her to have it on raw pasty meat which is a treat for her, but the second time round precisely zilch. Tried it in milk but it just went lumpy. I am wondering now about attempting to empty the powder from the capsule, which opens, directly into her mouth.
DeleteTry clotted cream. It worked with our elderly dog.
DeleteOne supplement that I take in addition to the fish oil & calcium is turmeric (with ginger & pepper) which does seem to help with joint pain. Glucosamine was popular a few years ago but seems to have fallen from favour
DeleteFor administration to cat how about mixing powder with butter?
Had some good news tonight. Our son FaceTimed to say he and his girlfriend have got engaged. Really pleased for them. 🥂
ReplyDeleteLovely news PtbY ☺
ReplyDeleteHappy times for PTBY! I started looking for an outfit months ahead for a Rob's wedding !
ReplyDeleteAs for tablets for me: I have taken none of them! Yes I have 9 tablets per day with another 8 at times during a week. All have been recommended by doctors.
My friend has three tablets 'off the counter' including glocosabine. I read it up on it and I don't think it was good. Funnily she has always had the trots for years now. Think I'll mention the glocosabine might be the reason! Might be an end of a beautiful friendship !
I used to give my cats tablets wrapped up in ham!
Has anyone been watching the series ‘Piano’ on Channel 4?
ReplyDeleteIt was the final tonight and had me in tears! Presented by Claudia Winkleman they had invited amateur pianists to play at railway stations in front of the travelling public. All ages, all types of piano music. Classical, jazz, ballads, modern. But unbeknown to them, famous Pianists Lang Lang and Mika were watching behind the scenes and chose one player from each city to take part in a concert at the Royal Festival Hall. It came as a huge surprise to each of them.
The most amazing was a 14 yr old girl, blind from birth and with multiple learning difficulties and little speech who played Chopin and Debussy as well as Lang Lang himself. The other 3 young men all had faced difficulties in life but found consolation in playing the piano and writing their own songs. One was autistic, one lost his father to suicide when he was 8. One used to be a tear-away.
It was such an uplifting programme, the RFH audience were ecstatic and as a final surprise, each of them was given a beautiful piano so they could continue playing on something better than a keyboard at home. Even Mr A was visibly moved by their playing and the reception they received.
If you are interested in this 5 part series it can be found on the Channel 4 (catch up) hub. And cut out the adverts!
Agree Archerphile this programme is absolutely superb! When we discovered it we binge watched to catch up as far as we were able, now we have just started to watch the final episode to be followed by the actual concert. I wish it could go on and on I just love piano music of all genre and the 4 people chosen to perform are inspirational all for difference reasons but the young girl is so fantastic there really are no words to explain from how unconventionally she was taught to play to how wonderfully she is able to do so with her continuous involuntary head movements. Love, love, love it!
DeleteGuess a second series not possibly as it would be know that they would be being observed 😕
Glad you have been enjoying it too Lady R. It is not at all what I would have expected from Channel 4. I hope it gets accolades at next years BAFTAs
DeleteWill try out all 3 of the above hints to disguise the powder. I hadn't thought of mixing it with cream or butter. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteSorry to have interrupted the discussion about medicating dogs, I had no experience to add.
DeleteNo apology needed Archerfile. I quite often add things as I think about them. I think that conversation frequently does meander around different subjects at the same time.
Delete
ReplyDeletePtbY- Don't forget to check with the mother of the bride to find out what she is wearing so that you don't inadvertently wear the same and out do her!
A friend of mine was invited to her ex husband's wedding .
She bought an outfit but decided at the last minute not to go(why on earth would she want to anyway?")
Their daughter was a bridesmaid and when my friend saw the photograph she realised that the bride was wearing exactly the same outfit that she had bought.
Now, that would have been interesting.
ReplyDeleteRe The Piano. I also watched it, lovely program. I never thought much of the presenter but have changed my mind, she seemed genuinely warm and sincere.
ReplyDeleteI thought she was very good as the presenter of The Traitors.
DeleteWhy doesn't she do something with that ridiculous fringe ? Perhaps the makers of the shampoo she advertises have said she has to keep it
ReplyDeleteI have to say though that I thought she was very good as a Presenter in"The Piano"
I enjoyed the series
I watched the final until half way through then had to leave it.
I now know who won but in fairness it was a foregone conclusion anyway.
Claudia has had “that” fringe for many years now LJ I guess it is her signature piece!
DeleteAt the end of programme 5 it was stated they had not intended to have a winner as such but if something really unique happened they would reconsider and the spellbound reaction and standing ovation for Lucy clinched it ( although one other also got a standing ovation can’t recall who right now) However it was lovely that everyone was acknowledge with such a wonderful gift 🤗
It was Dan I think, who got the other standing ovation. It was his story about his Dad committing suicide when he was only 8 and the years of depression that he has battled as a teenager that moved everyone I think. His song and playing were beautiful.
DeleteAnd though there was no overall ‘winner’ they were all given a piano as a surprise prize.
✔️✔️
DeleteSaturday, so my weekly log in.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read back very far, so all I can say is, those with health problems, I wish you all well.
As to dosing a cat, it is so difficult.
Big Sis has a cat with a kidney problem needing daily meds. She uses an oral syringe in some way, in that the powder/crushed tablet, is put in it with a bit of water and then squirted onto the cats inside mouth. No idea if cat gets full dose, but it seems to be working well, so far.. Her vet nurse taught her this technique.
To add - online banking (going back to last weeks topic) did me + Big Sis well this week. Long story short, she is buying on impulse, a new car and as off to OZ in a week, the cashing in monies and sorting finances was proving a problem. I am giving her a short tem sub. Monies transferred between my two accounts, setting up a new payee with all her bank details needed, then into her account, took just 30 mins.
DeleteMy point is, don't be afraid of on-line banking - it is very safe, secure and so easy.
To add -there were very many security checks done by bank, such as passcodes etc. to ensure it was me doing the transfer..As said it was easy, except that 🐈⬛ jumped up onto keyboard at one time, as wanted to join in!!
DeleteThink about it..that's all.
Back next week. Until then stay safe and krrp well all. 😍🤗
Thank you for the idea of using a syringe for the cat's powder.
DeleteThe more people bank online, the more branches are closed and the more people lose their jobs. In conversation with Nationwide head office I've recently described the older people with poor memory, poor sight and shaky hands who can't use the internet, or drive to the only branch that's left to talk to a real person, as collateral damage. They hadn't looked at it like that, or considered the fact that two miles away as the crow flies may take over an hour and two buses.
ReplyDeleteThey've registered me with their support team and reinstated my telephone banking, but I've said they need to do this generally, not just for those who get registered because they have complained
And please, this is not a personal attack on you, Miriam, I've recently been fighting the corner on behalf of older people for whom the modern ways of doing this are not so easily mastered and need something simpler and more familiar.
ReplyDeleteTo add Sarnia if only one half of a couple does the online banking if poorly or worse a nightmare for the other half. It certainly would be in our case (but I do not do so). Have not needed to use telephone banking yet although set up for it. Amazingly our Nat West still (for now) has a branch locally in town and Nationwide is directly opposite it so 🤞🏼🙏🏼
DeleteAround us Nationwide do seem to have kept branches open which is good, but I have noticed that quite a lot are not open full time, so that is something to be aware of, but I think they offer telephone banking on some accounts.
DeletePersonally, I went to telephone banking 30 years ago & then moved online without to much anxiety. What slightly irritated me was HSBC stopping sending me printed statements for my business account without my consent so I had to print them myself for my accountant. I am not IT savvy enough to share that sort of thing virtually, and as I am reaching the end of that I am not motivated to learn.
I don't comment as much as I used to mainly because I realise I haven't anything of interest to add to any conversations.
ReplyDeleteI have just noticed that Miriam is only going to comment on a Saturday but for some reason doesn't seem to scroll back to see what is written , so Miriam you may not read what I am writing but I am not trying to keep anything from you so this next sentence is specifically for you although others may choose to read it.
I don't know why you have decided not to write comments at any other time but I wondered if someone had mentioned your habit of doing several short posts rather than one longer one.
I notice that this is what you did yesterday
May I say that I think the rest is us should not patronise Miriam .
She is an intelligent woman and not a young girl so we should not be begging for her to return to the blog daily if it is her choice to contribute weekly
On another subject today being Mothering Sunday-It is NOT Mothers Day -it is one of the two days each year when I choose to do nothing.
I had a busy but enjoyable day yesterday and today I plan to walk round the garden ,admire the magnolia which is coming into flower come back inside ,have lunch and relax hopefully .
Good for you Lanjan enjoy 💐🤗 totally agree Mothering Sunday!
DeleteNot one myself but always receive card and gift from niece bless her it is at her insistence.
This afternoon I have been invited by my neighbours daughter to join her and my neighbour plus her 2 sons to whom I am a proxy grandmother ( they are 18 & 20 now 😳 ) for tea and cake it will be at a very quirky local family owned tearoom - Mr R will be watching football and as it is a very local venue ok to leave him. Neighbours husband will be in too although both in a similar boat really……
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteEsscee, 17/3 8.37 p.m. Yes, I did mean Claudia Winkleman, for some reason I took a dislike to her years ago when she began presenting 'Film Night'. It might have been because I was a big fan of Barry Norman and preferred his style, so stopped watching FN and avoided her ever since. I have never watched SCD because I just can't stand the hysteria, whooping etc etc.
ReplyDeleteJanice, based on my new-found liking, I will give The traitors a go!
I found it quite nail biting at times, and an interesting study in how people behave when they don't know who is friend or foe, and I thought Claudia was being very supportive in the group challenges. Apparently an American version is now showing here in Britain, but I haven't so far watched it as I was told the competitors were more ruthless and less team spirited than the British one.
DeleteI have had a lovely and unexpected t Mothers Day. (Sorry LanJan, not being CofE, Mothering Sunday is not in my calendar! 😉). I was invited to daughter’s for a superb lunch and all three grandchildren were there. Rosie is on her Easter break from University and finishing off her dissertation for finals in May; Young Griff just returned from an all-night hike in the New Forest with the Scouts so was only half awake and Max busy planning his trip to Albania in the Easter hols.
ReplyDeleteI was presented with a beautifully arranged posy of spring flowers and a new jigsaw, so I am more than happy and thankful for family.
Lovely family day for you AP 👏🏻💐
DeleteMy afternoon was also most enjoyable although only local no driving for me (a rare occurrence in itself) and treated to a lovely cream tea and given some beautiful white tulips felt very warmed by the invitation from neighbours daughter to join their MS jaunt 🤗
More to do with the days of being 'in service' from the age of 13 than being CofE, AP.
DeleteBasket of hyacinths from my son arrived yesterday. Just managed to stay awake long enough to play morning service after all the upheaval of the last couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteCrashed out on Archie-the-sofa after lunch and slept for three hours!
In the past I have picked lots of daffodils from the garden for the Mothering Sunday posies ( given of latter years to men as well as women as most people have a caring role of some kind or another), but the vicar has long covid, and been off for two months so far, so no service today. Had a lovely day though. Did my best to get grandson to hold a pen, which he preferred to chew, to draw a squiggly X on a card for his mum and we picked her some daffodils. Daughter brought me breakfast in bed and son drove us to Cotehele, a beautiful medieval/Tudor House which has been kept in a time warp. There was a shamrock shaped peephole up in the upstairs family great chamber and it overlooked the great hall and main door. Very handy if you wanted to pretend to be out! Also a high up window overlooking the chapel so the family could attend without being seen and without sitting with all the estate workers on hard pews.
ReplyDeleteIt was the first day of their daffodil week, and the gardens and meadows and orchard were looking beautiful. They have a lot of very old heritage varieties. At the end of April there is going to be a blossom weekend as they have a fruit orchard, again with lots of heritage varieties, so might try to go again although it is a bit of a drive.
It sounds both fascinating and beautiful Janice.
ReplyDeleteLanjan 12.44 post. Miriam has stopped posting often because of some comment about sitting on her hands. She had posted a lot in a day and took the remark to heart.
ReplyDeleteWhy post on a weekend and not read what others have posted though?
Miriam… read others posts to find out how they are. No need to just keep to a Saturday, post whenever you want for goodness sake.
I had three Mothering Sunday cards, the fourth being Chris, who never remembers but will often buy me a present when I say I wan't something so no bother. I too insist on 'Mothering Sunday' cards mainly because I am a Christian and mainly because I can't stand stupid days which originate in America!
ReplyDeleteAwful performance by England in Rugby but I hope it gets sorted out before World Cup. Soon be cricket season !
So pleased to read Mistrals post @ 2.31 Sunday
ReplyDeleteI too stopped watching FM when CW replaced Barry Norman and like her cannot stand the hype and whooping and over the top excitement of SCD.
No flowers this year and only one card ( the other card will come today I expect ) but I had long telephone conversations with both daughters yesterday, then took Lady to the beach where she found a delightful 18 month old puppy who had come over from Ukraine with his family. The dogs played whilst I chatted with the host and refugee families.
What a lovely experience Mrs P. I hope thé family were happy over here and not missing their homes too much. I have great admiration for people who have given a home to Ukrainian refugees. I should have love to have done that myself if only we had enough room and were no so isolated from the facilities they would need.
DeleteYes ARCHERPHILE - I think my daughter and SIL would have considered it but they are so remote from any facilities. Even the village is a 15 min walk across fields and about half an hour if walking on the lanes.
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DeleteI posted on the wrong page, even though I thought I was logged off here. Apologies.
ReplyDeleteOh dear where is everyone ! TA site has comments from some of us so know we are ok. Are the rest of you busy with your gardens or indoor DIY maybe - or just lazing about 🤗 ☕️📚 like me right now as early sun gone and rain coming in as forecast…..
ReplyDeleteLook forward to your comments.
Absolutely flattened after the mad 2 weeks of the re-wiring, Lady R. Also very conscious that I've just dealt with something else that my husband didn't want done. He had been ignoring it for decades, just like the crumbling shed, the leaky gas fire and the decaying front door. I know it's irrational, but it still feels like betrayal. I find myself grieving for his stubbornness.
ReplyDeleteA case of heart v head Sarnia and understandable. I see from your second post more work is afoot. Wisteria how lovely white or mauve?
DeleteMy read is in a post further down.
PS Nigel came today to prune the wisteria and start removing all the frost-bitten carcases. Then Martyn came to see what will need plastering in the kitchen next week. Onward and upward. What are you reading?
ReplyDeleteNot a lot to report at the moment. I'm gradually starting to get out and about a bit more. We had lunch out with some friends today.
ReplyDeleteI've also sown some seeds in the hope that I'll be able get back into the garden in a few weeks.
I'm currently reading the latest book in Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series, my RHS magazine and this weeks New Scientist.
New Scientist - wow, an intellectual! I have the Gardeners' World Subscription issue, but wouldn't be able to make head or tale of a scientific journal.
DeleteThat is to say, tail.
DeleteGood to hear of your ongoing progress CC 🙂
DeleteWe’ve had a couple of days away in harrogate. Not bad weather. A gentle stroll round, a bit of shopping and a couple of nice meals out.
ReplyDeleteGot a couple of lovely jigsaws from oxfam.
Glad to be back home though, as is Daphne…..she went in kennels. Mabel came with us. She’s knackered and has taken to her bed.
Sounds a lovely trip ptby and now equally nice to be home with both 🐕 🐕 I’m sure.
DeleteHurrah you’re back - as I thought much busyness going on amongst you!
ReplyDeleteI have just finished reading a book called “House of Echoes” by Barbara Erskine the first of such genre for me. A thick book with small print and content that quite wore me out, spooky and yet a bit ott maybe can’t make my mind up. Neighbour has read many of her books so will have to discuss with her. Next read will have to be a light hearted break one I think 🤗
I managed to get the paperback edition of Richard Coles book, Death before Evensong, which I have been looking forward to.
ReplyDeleteBut I am slightly amazed to find I actually prefer Richard Osman’s second book, The Man who was Murdered Twice!
Not surprisingly, since he has been an ordained Vicar, Coles’s hero is a Vicar in a village Parish and so there is a lot about church procedures, services, all the duties a Vicar has to undertake, arguments with the flower ladies and a bit too much about the minutiae of church life for me.
I found it a much slower paced book than Osman’s and don’t think I shall bother with the second in the series, whereas I am looking forward to reading the third of Osman’s retirement village saga.
That's interesting Archerfile, I preferred Richard Coles's book and didn't mind those details in spite of not being religious. I will read both of their next books.
DeleteThe clue is in the title, AP!
ReplyDeleteWell, obviously I knew what the setting would be. I just didn’t expect so much detail about services, when candles have to be lit and extinguished etc. etc. and, as I said the minutiae. I expected more about the lives of the characters, the village itself and the crime committed.
DeleteAfter all, if you read a crime book set in a hospital you don’t expect to have all the details of how an intricate operation is carried out. It’s usually about personal relations ships, what led up to the crime and how it was solved.
Perish the thought!
ReplyDeletePleased you have had a good Break PtbY .
ReplyDeleteMight have guessed it would involve a bit of Retailtherapy .Now get into the garden .I am sure Adam Frost would encourage that!
Sorry I meant to add a reply to Archerphile but clicked too soon.
ReplyDeleteI don't like either Richard Coles or Richard Osman .(Turn off the Today programme when Amol Rajan is on too )
I have never met any of them and therefore am probably being very unfair in disliking them
I did try to read RO's first book but didn't like it and although I regularly listen to radio 4 I can't listen to the Saturday morning one introduced by RC.
I didn't read the book he wrote about the death of his husband/ partner and could not think why anyone would write a book like that unless it was cathartic for him to write everything down but it would hardly be good bedtime reading.
Hi LanJan, You’ll be pleased to hear that as of next week Richard Cole will not be presenting on Saturdays as the programme production is moving to Cardiff.
DeleteMaybe you ave a problem with the name Richard? What about Richard Briers? Only kidding we all have different tastes. I tend not to read murder/mystery/detective books so cannot judge on the literary merit at all.
Lanjan - re Richard Osman’s second book, to which I was referring - I found it much better than the first. I think he has refined his writing style and I found it match faster paced and quite amusing in parts. I actually looked forward to each chapter, which I wasn’t with the first.
DeleteI saw my first butterfly this week. Very dark brown, but couldn’t see any markings.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I saw my first ladybird.
Spring is here.
No butterflies or ladybirds here just blinking rain and slippery mud.
ReplyDeleteWas pleased with myself as have now sorted out and taken up to the church bookstall, with daughter to help carry, a huge box of my books; and what have I just done after reading the above but ordered a secondhand copy of Richard Coles "Murder before Evensong" from Ebay. 😣
What a colourful garden, I now have. I was so dissappointed a while ago, as bulbs etc. were not flowering as I expected.
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference and there are so many bumble bees around, esp with the hyacinths in the window box, outside my lounge window.
My hard work last autumn, is finally paying dvidends.
I am loving the new Paul Temple on R4ex - The Geneva Mystery, as I did Inspector West along with The Toff.
I have just bought the latest Vera book, The Rising Tide..
As to TV...Endeavour, just brilliant, now followed by Grace. Also loved Hotel Portofino, plus now so enjoying Beyond Paradise.
DeleteThe theme is - intrigue, detective, thriller etc.
That's me 😵 🔍🧩
Miriam, your garden sounds beautiful and I am SO envious as parts of mine still look like a warzone.
ReplyDeleteHowever, yes you're right, the bulbs are busy doing their thing: the woodland walk past the summer house has patches of crocus and mini daffodils in the grass and between the new stepping stones. My Kastos Island bed is much more successful so far this year, with blue grape hyacinths, purple chionodoxa between the sandstones, with the miniature eucalyptus in the corner in its mauve pot. Hopefully these will be followed by corydalis Blue Heron and dwarf sea holly.
My clematis Guernsey Cream has at least 20 huge buds on it, so as long as the weather can manage to remain a bit more clement it should be spectacular next month.
I have a choisya, planted about 20 years ago, which suddenly is now a brown, shrivelled and very dessicated shrub. I am still leaving it, just in case it starts to revive. If not then so be it!
DeleteUs too Miriam. We have several Choisya bushes around the garden including 3 of the lovely golden variety.
DeleteAll except one very large green bush are brown and distorted and I can’t see them reviving. 20 odd years of growth ruined !
And very few of our trees or shrubs are showing any leaf yet which seems very late to me. The only plants that seem to have survived are one or two honeysuckles on the long trellis but Clematis Montana looks stone dead. 😢
Mine is also a golden one.
DeleteI lost most of my hebes to the December cold snap but have been pleasantly surprised that my choysias have survived relatively unscathed. The spring bulbs are doing their own thing and providing lots of colour. I saw my first bumblebee of the season last week which cheered me up.
ReplyDeleteYes, I lost my purple ones, but not the pink ones behind them. My pride of Madeira have also had it.
Delete
ReplyDeleteI bought veggies and flowers when I went to Dobbies this morning. Now perhaps I can get the garden sorted if not too much rain next week.
Tomorrow I have to renew my First Aid certificate (10am - 4pm) for Scouts. Will be a test for my memory and lack of concentration!
I have 2 Camelia flowers on my bush at the bottom of the garden. Beautiful lovely dark red flowers against the new fence I put in last summer.
Good gardening everyone !
Mr A is very upset that he has not seen a Brimstone yet. There is always a race in our family to see the first of the year.
ReplyDeleteAnyone forgotten to put their clocks forward! Luckily most go automatically which can make it even more of a challenge to remember any that do not. We have finally mastered the cooker one - so simple really but for some reason it has been a thorn in our side for a long time (even with the handbook)
ReplyDeleteYesterday was a busy “at home” birthday for Mr R - where did that year go from his big one, turning it round this year so he is now only 19yrs 🤣😂 lots of phone calls, text, emails and friends popping in. Very late to bed with clocks going forward as we watched Andrew Lloyd Webber on BBC 2. I decided to Google his age and instead up came the awful news that he had literally just lost his son in his early 40’s to cancer! He was in our very own Basingstoke hospital - St Michaels Hospice part I believe. So very very painful for him and all family and friends. I did not realise he lived so near (at Sydmonton Court grade 11 listed beautiful property) probably Archerphile may do so he also owns most of not all of Watership Down. A tough time ahead bless him 🙏🏼 the same deep hurt especially losing a child even if you are a multi multi millionaire and no amount of that could save him…
most of if not all of Watership Down
ReplyDeleteYes indeed I did Lady R. Just as well there wasn't a service today! I have contacted my son to ask them to come half an hour later for Sunday dinner.
ReplyDeleteI forgot once when I was young and turned up late for work and my friends were leaning out the windows and teasing me with lots of funny comments.
For the first time in my life, so did I. Too worn out on Saturday from my first play-reading the night before. That was the first time I had been out by myself to do something new and meet new people, so a bit of a personal achievement.
ReplyDeleteI still just about managed to be ready when my lift turned up.
Well done Sarnia, for being brave enough to get out to do something new with people at present unknown to you.
DeleteI hope it turns into an enjoyable social activity for you.
I'll be having words with the gardener next time I see him. I asked him to dig up two dead hebes and replace them with heathers which I had left in pots next to my alpine trough. I went out to water the heathers this morning and there were two empty spaces where the heathers should have been. I searched high and low for the plants and eventually found them in the alpine trough from which he had removed my alpines to make room for them!
ReplyDeleteHe's not called Nigel by any chance, is he? I really couldn't manage without mine, but I've learned the hard way that as he's a little wayward on the interpretation side, best not to just give him instructions and leave him to it.
ReplyDeleteYes I forgot about the clocks and didn’t realise until mid afternoon.
ReplyDeleteBought a climbing rose this morning for my archway into the veg area of the garden. Got it planted and moved some pots of tulips, which are finally coming up, to near the patio doors.
I’m so impressed with Monty Dons bulb table that I think I’ll do one next spring.
Supposed to be better weather tomoz so hoping for a full day in the garden.
WELL I did not expect so many not putting their clocks forward 🤣
ReplyDeleteI still have to do the car clock, off to an appointment for Mr R with his consultant tomorrow afternoon so must action in the morning otherwise it will put us right out!
Things on my mind to wrestle with, Lady R. I've never done it before.
ReplyDeleteLady R - yes we are quite near Watership Down. It’s just off the road between Overton and Kingsclere and we often went for walks up there. Son did a lot of kite flying there too.
ReplyDeleteYou can see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s house, gardens and whole estate easily from up there and the little church adjacent. You can also walk through the beech hangar on top of the hill where all the escaped to in the famous story. Funnily enough, our GP surgery is called The Watership Down
Heath Practice as it serves several villages in the area.
‘ all the rabbits’
DeleteI can remember driving along that stretch of road once many many decades ago and looking up at the down. I was the passenger in those days so able to look at the map and distinguish the correct spot.
DeleteThanks AP that is all very interesting!
DeleteWhat a beautiful day. I’ve had a lovely time in the garden this aft. Been splitting plants, planting some and potting some. Another row dug out on the digging a raised bed area. Listened to 2 Paul temples whilst digging and weeding. Bliss.
ReplyDeleteHow was your hip PtbY whilst doing all that gardening ?
DeleteA right pain Mrs P. I have a kneeling stool that I actually sit on with my legs out. It’s the getting up and getting going again that’s the problem. Got an appointment to see someone about it on April 13th to see what options there are.
DeleteA right pain…. Yes….. but pushing through that and keeping going is the way forward.
DeleteGood luck on the 13th.
And from me
ReplyDeleteWe took advantage of the lovely weather yesterday and did quite a lot in the garden, I say we but Mr CC did most of it with me supervising. I managed to do a few jobs myself whilst stopping myself from doing too much. I empathise with you PtbY, it's no fun having that pain and very frustrating when you're normally an active person.
ReplyDeleteHey, LanJan, if you haven't already seen it, a sight to gladden your eyes. GW mag, April edition p 78: full-page pic of your favourite, crinkly-eyed gardener!
ReplyDeleteWhat a miserable day.
ReplyDeleteWe have spent the afternoon watching “the godfather”. Have 2 and 3 recorded and been looking for the original for free on tv for months.
A completely lazy day.
Miserable weather here too. I've been sorting out my phone photos, having one of my periodic clear out of the rubbish and downloading on to the computer those that I want to keep.
ReplyDeleteI too have had a "changed plan" day, due to the rain and cold. I cleaned the kitchen whilst listening to the last two episodes of Paul Temple. I enjoyed it and for once, didn't solve it.
ReplyDeleteAnother listen I enjoyed has been Val McDermott - The Distant Echo, on which the tv series Karen Pirie was based, if anyone saw this.
I now am waiting for next week's last episode of Unforgotten, so I can start watching it all..
This is my planned binge watch, for over the Easter Weekend, as I will be home alone, but it doesn't bother me.
DeleteWe had a huge surprise today
ReplyDeleteAs you may remember, Mr A and I had booked a cruise for our Golden Wedding Anniversary back in April 2020. Of course it was cancelled because of Covid and we had no Celebration or saw any friends or family.
Last week I was speaking to Fred Olsen cruises about possibly booking a cruise for next year. I mentioned about the cancelled one in 2020 and the lady commiserated with me.
Today, I found a huge box in the garden (chucked over the fence by a courier who couldn’t be bothered to come to the front door, I presume)
Inside was a very large, beautiful bouquet of flowers containing some blooms and greenery I have never seen before. All tied up with golden ribbon. It was from Fred Olsen with a lovely card in lieu of our Anniversary cruise, apologising for the lost celebration.
We were amazed that the company should go to this trouble, for something which after all, was not their fault.
That’s really nice!
DeleteWhat a nice gesture.
DeleteAnd as you say, they certainly did not need to do that.
DeleteGood company policy there.
I went on a group walk today.
ReplyDeleteIn the rain.
Pretty wet and very muddy in places but with company and talking along the way the rain wasn’t really a problem.
Lady was the only dog, so no issues there but plenty of dogs in the Dunster Castle NT tearoom and she only gave one little growl when walking past two huge greyhounds lying down. She then settled down to sleep while I ate my bacon sandwich.
Thank you Sarnia .
ReplyDeleteI saw him.
His nails are much cleaner than one of the female presenters!
Sorry have been very busy this last week .
Won't bore you with what I have been doing but I need a bit of a rest now.
Now ,I need to know if it me...........
I was talking to a friend S today and mentioned another friend J and said that what surprised me about her was that she always put full make up on whether she was going out or not.
I said to S I was amazed but S said that she wouldn't dream of answering the door if she wasn't wearing make up - not just a bit of lipstick but mascara as well.
I was staggered so when I spoke to another friend this evening and she was the same,I thought
"Am I alone?"
If I am expecting someone I may put some make up on but if I am gardening or doing housework It wouldn't cross my mind .
I would hate you to think I don't wash though .
I do have my early morning shower and face is either washed or I now use some stuff called micellar something or other and follow that with a moisturiser but I wouldn't dream of putting on make up if I were not going out or if I were expecting a visitor just in case someone called .
In The Times today it said that for £73,000 you can go on a World Cruise for 3years.
I commented that I thought it would be a terrible idea .I would hate it .
The other comment I made on The Times was about the fact that David Jason has learned that he has a daughter he didn't know about.
Why is this news?
Are any of you watching"Race across the World"
A group are "racing" across Canada and start in Vancouver and travel north.
It is excellent.
The scenery is spectacular and for me the added bonus is that they are only a few hundred miles from where my elder son is working.
He is so far north that he can see Alaska and is in such a remote area that there are no shops .
I would hate it but he loves the area and the First Nation people with whom he works.
Right….first thing….yes watching race across the world. Really enjoyed first episode.
DeleteMake-up……quite frankly I can’t be bothered, whether I’m or going out. I’m that short sighted that I’m useless at applying it, I’m always rubbing my eyes so mascara would be a no-no and having worn an eye patch for 3 years I couldn’t see the point. Actually I did make up the one eye a little bit when I had a trip for cocktails with a friend at the Ritz! A cleanse and an application of a serum and a moisturiser and that’s me done.
Paul Temple calling me now. Goodnight all.
I’m in or going out….
DeleteDon't wear makeup at all, LJ. Tried it in the 60s and found it didn't get on with my face, so never used it again. Perhaps your friends are all blondes and feel their features need enhancing? Fortunately I'm so dark that I'm not missing anything being allergic to the stuff.
ReplyDeleteMuch as I have enjoyed cruises in the past and love being at sea, I find the thought of being on it non-stop for three years quite appalling. I wouldn't even want to do two back-to-back as a lot of people do. Perhaps they have nothing to come back to!
As for David Jason, well - that's ruined his image at the last minute, hasn't it
Make-up? I think the last lot I bought was for my wedding!
ReplyDeleteNo cruises for me, thank you, I'm a land lubber. But I do like Flanders and Swann's description of them: 'Hanging around for days on end in a sort of floating Selfridges'
Used to wear make up for going out. Mainly just mascara and lipstick & possibly a pat of crème puff on cheeks to stop shine. Being fair with very short eyelashes I felt invisible without the mascara.
ReplyDeleteBut since the cataract operations my eyes have shrunk, the lids don’t open so far and Like PtbY, I rub my eyes a lot and they water continuously.
So I cannot even put mascara on any more and the months of wearing masks during Covid stopped lipstick too, which I’ve not bothered to reapply.
I usually put make up on if I'm going out but am not obsessive about it.
ReplyDeleteI've never done an ocean cruise, it's never appealed. I remember sitting in a cafe in Venice watching a cruise ship disgorge the passengers, the sight confirmed my view. We have done river cruises and really enjoyed those. The ship's are much smaller with far fewer people on board and one gets a different perspective on a place from a river.
Re David Jason, I read about him discovering that he had a child that he wasn't aware of but I don't know the details so I feel that I can't comment on it.
Me too,as far as make up is concerned! I used to wear a bit of lipstick and eyeliner when going out, but feel more comfortable without it now.
DeleteI like my ships to look like ships, so the ones that blend withe the blocks of flats in the background while in port don't appeal to me either. On the smaller more spacious ones, 2,000 people are easily dispersed among all the various facilities so that it doesn't feel at all crowded. I enjoyed being able to visit so many different places without the inconvenience of flying, and to have art classes, a library and piano recitals just a lift away was pure luxury. There was also ample walking on a safe, flat surface and a gym for gentle exercise.
DeleteDon't think I'll be going alone though, just view cruising as a chapter that's over.
Re cruises : I refused to go on one for years, even though Mr A was keen. It was the thought of having to get dressed up posh for dinner and snobbery that put me off
DeleteBut we eventually tried Olsen, and also Saga because their ships are very small compared to some and ‘dressing for dinner’ is completely optional with lots of cafe/buffet places to eat if you want to be informal.
Also they can get to places other ships are too large for, like the Keil Canal which was fascinating, up the River Gironde to Bordeaux, or even the Corinth Canal in Greece which I’d love to see.
The main advantage for me is being able to visit lots of different places on one holiday but having the same bedroom (cabin) for the whole time, no packing and unpacking!
Thanks ladies.
ReplyDeleteI am glad I am not alone..
This is my favourite time of year although this year it has been so wet that I haven't been able to get out into the garden as much as I would have liked.
A few months ago I moved a table into what I call my office or the spare room.
I live in a bungalow and the room is at the front of the house.
There is a magnolia tree in next door's garden but most of the branches hang over my side.
At the moment it is full of blossom and Ihave put up a bird feeder full of niger seeds.
I am sitting here now and two little goldfinches are pecking away.
Lovely.
The daffodils and other Spring flowers ,climbers and bushes are thriving and some of the tulips are o
I am also in the process of potting on plug plants which I buy online.
I love a bargain and wait for the time when they obviously have overstocked and want to get rid of them.
I have already taken delivery of 20 fuchsias,72 mixed perennials and am awaiting begonias ,geraniums ,penstamen and salvias and anything else I have forgotten I have ordered.
I have never wanted to go on a cruise - I like the Flanders and Swann description - sums it up for me and like ARCHERPHILE says dressing up and snobbery- pretentious rubbish - not for me.
ReplyDeleteBut a did have a short break with a friend on the tiny cruise along the Sharpness Canal in Gloucestershire and that was lovely. No pretentious rubbish at all.
I slathered my face with ‘stuff ‘ at fourteen and then got a rash. Dr said it was the makeup…….. never used it since. My eye makeup used to take me forty minutes and was spectacular but when I was subjected to weeks of lights being poured into my eyes in order to investigate the brain tumour that wasn’t, my lovely large eyes shrunk and have never used any of it again. Lipstick not used for many many decades.
I prefer au natural !
But I do really appreciate my eyelashes. Being without them when Alopecia was at its most active was truly horrible.
How interesting that you say your eyes shrank too Mrs P. Being subjected to intensely bright light and ultrasound pulses into each eye may have removed my cataracts, but have markedly reduced the size of my eyes and cause the lids not to open so far. They look so much smaller I feel I have a ‘piggy’ face now. I was not warned this might happen so your experience is most interesting. I sympathise.
DeleteThank you ARCHERPHILE- but to make you feel a little better ( at my expense, but your welcome ! ) you do, I imagine still have hair on your head.
DeleteI am bald and look not so much like piggy, but like some goblin from the fantasy world of Tolkien.
The positive side of alopecia is that with not a single hair on my body is my lovely smooth skin. The downside of that is very little temperature control.
But I’m still here at 80, still have a wide smile, and still have an engaging personality.
Quite so Mrs P and jolly glad we all are too 🤗 👏🏻
DeleteI've never used much make up and none at all now. When I was young I used to have fun putting nail polish on my toe nails and varying the colours . A friend once said that if she ever saw me wearing red nail polish she knew I was going into battle about something or other. I never liked plastering anything on my face, although I went through a phase of having my eyelashes dyed black because fair eyelashes don't show up very well.
ReplyDeleteI would love to go on a river cruise as long as the boat didn't bob up and down. I also like the idea of being in the same bedroom and unpacking once. I've been on a number of sailing boat channel etc crossings when younger ( husband and father in law's hobby) and felt dire on all the journeys. A 38/42 foot sailing boat gets thrown everywhere in rough weather. Dad in law tied me to the mast on one occasion! They had a really rough time crossing the Bay of Biscay once with huge waves and lightning hitting the sea all around them, but fortunately dad in law had had more sense than to ask me to go on that one.
Oh Janice !
DeleteI really do sympathise with those trips.
IMO you were a true warrior to agree to go on those you did.
I'm curious: why does enjoying the novelty of dressing for dinner for two weeks out of a mundane, humdrum life make me a snob? No offence taken, just don't understand.
ReplyDeleteNot at all Sarnia, (although it may apply to a few Mrs Bucket types 🤣) I admire that you did so. My middle sister and b-i-L did all 3 Queens and enjoyed every aspect of their cruises but then Joy would look good in a black bin bag whereas I would just be a wreck trying to look elegant. When I do get a compliment as from Mr R consultant Monday I am a mix of flabbergasted 🙃 and thrilled. 😉
ReplyDeleteMeant to add I was shocked and saddened to hear of Paul O’Gradys very sudden death this morning. Not everyone’s cup of tea no doubt but I really liked him in work mode and as himself with his great and genuine love for animals especially dogs. The Queen Consort has also spoken of her sadness at his passing.
ReplyDeleteRIP (with Cilla) Paul 🌹⭐️
They are now showing on C4 (5.00pm) The Love of Dogs episode, which included HM The Queen Consort.
DeleteIt will be able to be seen on All4.
I too, was shocked at his death, as I was with Victoria Wood.
Correction.
DeleteIt is ITV so available on ITVX.
Lady R, why would someone as tall and slim as you have difficulty looking elegant? I'm told I can still manage it and I'm decidedly (miniature) battleship class! (Although of course someone might just have been being kind)
ReplyDeleteWe went on a 7 day cruise to Bermuda before covid on a ship that had capacity for about 3000. Husband didn’t want to go on a cruise at all.
ReplyDeleteHe loved it. So did I. With that many people you did not see the same folks every day and you didn’t have to befriend anyone if you didn’t want to. I’m very anti social with regards new people. We didn’t spend time by swimming pools or sun loungers so enjoyed a peaceful time people watching from various bars. So many things to do. We only discovered a ten pin bowling alley as we were leaving.
Husband now desperate to go on another. Sometime in the future I hope.
I have nearly watched all detective stories on Tv in my 'record and watch' programmes but I cannot work out my ITVX 'turning on and taking off !' It is so awkward, but I am suppose it's me not following the correct procedure! You cannot stop the adverts as you can with my own shows where I can flip through and it takes about half a minute between adverts and beginnings of shows!
ReplyDeleteI planted some dahlias yesterday and three raspberry (autumn) canes this morning as well as tidying up the raspberry row. A robin came near to me as I was digging up and weeding, not caring how close he was, in getting worms!
Tomorrow it's shallot time and getting my small green houses over the other side of the garden.
I'm addicted to detective series,- the amusing ones, not the gritty ones. I think I'm falling in love with Chief Inspector Sullivan's gorgeous 1958 Wolseley 15 50 (although I'm not sure what it's doing being driven around 'Kembleford' in 1954!)
ReplyDeleteI am having a new boiler fitted hopefully tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThe "heating engineer " is coming at 7:30 am apparently so after watching "Race across the World" at 9:00 and recording"The Bay" I will be having an early night.
A friend said she was "in pieces" after watching the Paul O'Grady programme
New thread opened
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