General Chat

Night Linda, Barbra, Tec and other Brits.
Like Suemaid, Vancouver and Canada is on my very long list of places to visit.
Denise loved Vancouver. Spent six weeks in Canada in 1994. When she arrived, immigration officer asked how long she was staying. When Denise said 6 weeks the officer thought that it was an extraordinarily long time for a visitor. She loved it; railed right across the country from Vancouver to Halifax in stages.
The only bad taste happened on the way and it still rankles 15 years later. The Air Canada flight stopped in Hawaii for refuelling. As is the US way passengers in transit still have to pass through US Immigration. She didn't have a visa for the US so was threatened and locked up in a room with other potential terrorists. I emphasise that this was 1994, long before 11/9/2001.
Between us we have been in transit in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Bahrain, Frankfurt and Perth( WA) and never had to go through their respective immigration procedures. Apparently the US does things differently.
It looks like a nice day and should be warmer than the last couple of weeks so will get out and about.
Forty years ago several apartment buildings along the Collaroy-Narrabeen foreshore were threatened by high tides and storm surges. Of course they should never have been built, but that's the way developers work. Where I live is probably high enough for my lifetime.
I am a believer that climate change is due to human activity, but am a naughty boy in a couple of respects. One, we drive to the shops, and two, I use a tumble dryer for underwear. My excuse is that I live in a unit and work full time, there is not a lot of opportunity to dry clothes on the outside lines except at the weekend. I hang shirts and slacks (and sheets etc.) inside, though.
How many pages have gone up since I started this? I realise Linda, Barbra and Tec are long gone.

Hi Barbra, are you the Barb(a)ra who was feeling low a few days ago? If so, good to see you feisty as usual.

Allan - I joined 'something' years ago. It seemed to be an Australian site for contacting old school friends, but nobody from my school responded and I forgot about it after I tried to find it and it seemed to have vanished.

Years later, I joined Friends Reunited and was told this person already exists! Same log-in, same password. They must have taken over the site I was originally with....so I changed the name and then found quite a few of my classmates from 1946! I haven't tried to contact them because they were never in my 'group' at school and quite possibly, we would have nothing in common now - but it's still nice to know what path their lives took after leaving school.

Good morning Colin

I'll have to remember that about the visa as if we do go wewould probably fly Air Canada from the Eastern States

Allan

Berona, I might try FR. I was a loner at chool, and something of what I later learned was an isolate. It would be good to know how some of the class of 1965 went. Only know a handful.
Sadly, two dead in their late teens, one a famous mountain climber and one a physic professor at UNSW.
Got to go in a moment, so goodbye. Colin.

School, not chool or cool. It was a torrid time in a lot of ways.

Berona,
One old school friend went on to become Mayor of Stockport for a number of years.

This is one of those coincidences I talked about as I once worked at Stockport before moving across the country to work in Grimsby.

This lad became Mayor a few years after I left

Allan

Barb, glad to hear you are OK. And still young enough to be pregnant.

Hello and goodbye Allan.

Hi everyone and good night,
I've been out and just got back. Nothing happended much today except that I went out to lunch. There were 15 of us. One girl who left my place of work came along and she was 15 minutes late. Our food was pre-ordered but the restaurant waited until everyone turned up. I ate my food so quickly that I was going burp burp durning the afternoon.
I'll catch up with everyone tomorrow at some point.
Pat x

Good night to Barbra Colin and Pat

Take care

Allan

Colin - I would advise you to join FR. Whilst I'm a bit old for it - it was a surprise to recognise names of at least half a dozen classmates.

My daughter joined it recently and invited me to be a 'friend'. My four children all went to the same primary and secondary schools and when I looked at the schools, I found my children's friends, neighbours, etc. and learned of what has happened to them over the last twenty years or so. My daughter said 'no photos!', but she didn't allow for others putting THEIR copies on there!

Allan,
Was interested in your experience with old school mates. I went to an Old Boys School Reunion five years ago. Two things surprised me. After 48 years, I recognised almost everyone instantly, and they obviously knew me. Although it was interesting what everyone had done with their lives, and the various paths they had taken, there was very little to talk about. Out of a class of 30, there were 21 present, which I thought was pretty good. Two had apparently died. Of those present, I have only remained in contact with one, but we were close friends at school. It was a strange experience.

Hi Colin....
Further to my earlier post, re rising sea levels, I think I am safe enough here for what may be my lifetime, unless I live to be 100, but having had heart attacks, that is not likely.
The Americans do have some rigid rules. As a merchant seamen I was in and out of American ports for years. They issued us with Aliens Landing Cards. This was after the FBI had photographed you at three angles, a number embossed across the mugshot - like a criminal. Also having to sign a declaration that I was not, never had been, a member of the Communist Party, or my father.We were not allowed to travel further than 30 miles from the port of entry without a special permit. I once wanted to travel from Los Angeles to Mexico by road with a friend who had relatives in Mexico. The idea being to re join my ship in Acupulco. The red tape, forms, interviews, permits etc were incredible.
That of course was before there was any threat from terrorism.

Tec
They simply could not grasp that I was leaving the State, but not coming back.

Well, the time has come. Need to get some work done. I must say that the plumbers did clean up very well yesterday and there is no odour anywhere - but I still have this compulsion to wash everything and light my scented candle!

Talk to you all later. Be good!

Have a beaut day Berona

Regards

Allan

Barbra, I'm not sure if it is available in Oz but I will keep an eye out for it

Allan

Well I must also away to my bed, so enjoy your Saturday down under, don't get spooked by ghosts,

and sleep well up here on top,

Goodnight
Tec

Good night Tec

Allan

It is afternoon here - and we have the Paddington Bear books - I bought a set for my OH for his 25th birthday. I was in the supermarket the other day and the queues were such that everyone had heaps and I did not have much but too much for the 12 or less (unless you happend to Robbie Coultraine who if he gets 5 of the same item that counts as one) so, I stood a little bit back from the one in front of me and gave a Paddington Bear look at the customer services area - it worked they opened up another register and called me over.

The market come fair day was a great success - it only happens once a year and in that time frame the motorway has been extended to not far away from where I live and the arterial route to it happens to go right through our village and there are two pedestrian crossings there. Oh dear we had traffic congestion all day - they could have done with lollipop people at both crossings. I live in a suburb called Sandringham and the next one along from us is called Balmoral - very Regal names but as a populus we are like the league of nations. Oh and I got a few bargains like three matching little casserole dishes with lids all in tact from out of the seventies era at a $1 each. One woman was selling her teaspoon collection so I bought five spoons for a friend's sister.

Tec - Upstairs at the Great Northern was a big lounge bar/restaurant on the corner and I think it was either called Harbour View or Harbour Lights, well if you were on that same level now you would be hard pressed to even see the sea. There are apartments all around the shore line. I used to work in the Chief Post Office as a Teleprinter Operator - the facade and surrounding walls of the building are still there, but the trains now come into that area. You go in on street level and go down to the Train terminus - known as the Brittomart. Keep your memories - because nothing is constant in Auckland. What was a delightful coffee shop one week can be something else another and you are left wondering (wandering) why you can't find it.

I got a text from my grand daughter asking Nana if she could help sponsor her for funds for an skwl camp. I rang her mother to ask what skwl stands for - I am learning Colin: skwl is text speak for school.

I have made contact with people from school on the FR site and met up with them, have also met up with other GR members in NZ for a coffee.
Like you Berona I am my younger daughter's friend on friends. They are all on face book and I see where my eldest has photos of me at her graduation on there, but I don't actually do face book or twitter or other blogging etc as it takes me all my time to keep up with GR. I don't go into FR unless I get an e-mail through the site.

Persey

Well I can see I am doing my best to have a whole page to myself.
And Allan it is good to talk to yourself, it gives way to creative thinking and extremely good answers and it beats chatting up bins.

P xx