General Chat

Good morning all 11 degrees here at 0715 still feels warm indoors and pc says mainly sunny everything still looks dry outside so I don’t think we have had any rain yet. Which means first job will be watering two lots of pots. Slept well last night and no coughing. Cough does seem to have eased a bit now.

Mel you are out in the garden so late I just couldn’t do that, I know you are younger than me but I was always ready to stop by 5pm.

Yes Ann it does seem that the recent available compost retains more water, I suspect it was the peat content that kept the compost free flowing. I do wonder, in the future, what affect not removing peat will have on the areas it was previously removed from. Not that I will be here to see it. I suppose if it is a success it will be worth losing a few plants. But then they may find it has caused another long term problem.

I am pretty sure that, despite what the BBC says, there are many people who are fed up with the disruption to normal programmes caused by the football dominating every night. I noticed, even when there was not a match on one night, there was still a programme talking about it. I do wonder if it is necessary to show absolutely every match. And then for everyone to moan when it is rubbish. I reckon, if there was a vote, there would be more licence payers who don’t like it than those who do.

Vera, that cough was very strange and must have been frightening. Could it have been an allergic reaction to something that you had eaten, touched, smelt? The strange thing is that it stopped as suddenly as it started. Like a reaction that the source was removed. However, I am glad it stopped and that you were well yesterday.
And the coffee morning sounds as if it went well, and who doesn’t like a shop bought lemon drizzle cake (well those who don’t like lemon like T I suppose).

Ann I get really annoyed about crops that are too long. M&S do their trousers in three lengths, although I am 5 foot 2 I have always found the short length is too short for me as I am short waisted longer legged. So I have always bought regular which used to be fine. Now it seems to depend on the trouser style. But why do they make all their crops one size so they are actually crops on people who usually wear the long sized trousers. On me they are almost full length, On my daughter who wears their short sized trousers (even though she is taller than me) the crops are completely full length.

Good job I have done this in word I would not want to lose it but I had better paste it in now as your eyes must have glazed over. Appologies for long length of post but I have nor read the later posts yesterday.

It’s been another hot day but with a little bit more of a breeze so it hasn’t felt quite so heavy. It’s still 18 degrees so I think it’s going to be a hot night again.

I’ve often thought our men came out of the same mould Annx. Mine isn’t a huge football fan, preferring rugby, but he enjoys snooker, athletics, tennis and, above all, cycling and one of those sports is always on. He was a competitive cyclist in his early days and was in the Army team when doing his National Service. The Giro d’Italia has not long finished, now the Tour de France is on and then it will be the Olympics. He’ll be in his element.

I see you’ve been busy outside again today Mel. How do you manage to keep going for so long? I struggle to work for even an hour in the garden these days. You put me to shame.

I have felt fine today, just a bit tired so goodness knows where my 15 hours of coughing came from but it ended as suddenly as it started. I don’t think the change in tablet dosage can have been responsible. I’ve taken this particular tablet for 22 years and the dosage has been changed a few times now without any obvious effect.

I didn’t take my orange cake to the coffee morning. I cut a tiny slice to try it and the orange flavour was good but it wasn’t as light as I would have liked and it was very sweet, so I took along a shop bought lemon drizzle cake. I also took a couple of raffle prizes and some plants as there is always a plants stall and a book stall. Almost everyone donated raffle prizes and everyone except one lady won at least one prize back. OH and I won 3 between us but as we left I gave one to the lady who hadn’t won anything. It seems silly in a way for the members of the Club to provide everything and then buy it all back again but the alternative is to raise the fees as the meeting room has to be hired and speakers paid and they are getting more expensive all the time. Raising some money this way means we at least get to enjoy a pleasant, sociable time as well. We pay £3 for coffee and cake, which normally includes sausage rolls and scones and jam, and you can go back as many times as you want; plants and books are all 50p each. I can’t remember the cost of raffle tickets but they are also quite cheap. We’re only a small club of about 22 members and I think there were 20 of us there and we made £126 for the funds.

I’d better get on as I still have to transfer some birthday money to another granddaughter’s account as she has her birthday on Monday. That’s the last of the girls’ birthdays. It’s strange that all 4 granddaughters were born in a 4 week period. June is a very expensive month for us.

The footy seems to have been going on for months to me. There not a lot I watch on the telly so I mainly watch things on iplayer.

BIL and I did the big box filter, he got all the sponges and racks out and I washed them down and then he put it all back together for me. He wanted to og off early to take some photos of fox cubs he and his friend came across last week. He said one little one came right towards them and did'nt seem afraid.

Pc is saying rain tomorrow but its still 16 degrees here now. well I better get something to eat as I have just come in from the garden. I treated the big pond again with stuff that clears the blanket weed type stuff thats in there. At least I could see the bottom this week and thats a first for this year. Cut some more brimbles out of the box hedge and pulled some stingers up and repotted a couple of my plants.

Picked a nice lot of strawberries tonight so thats dessert sorted with some pineapple, grapes and cherries and I may have a necty too.

Afternoon All,

It's still 19 degrees here and a bit muggy. We did a short, swift weed session of the back garden earlier and the bin is 3/4 full again which is good, but there's still plenty left to do. I think the growers are probably struggling with having to use peat free as well AnnG. It was interesting as we emptied out my front wall pots today and despite our recent hot weather and my not always keeping on top of the watering, under the surface they were sodden as if the compost was retaining too much water? Your 'dry on top and claggy underneath' describes them exactly. The water can drain easily through a big hole I cover with a few bits of broken pot. I've used the pots for several years with no problem before. The annoying thing is the name of the compost on the bag has completely faded so it can't be read, but I had thought it was Westland. It had lumps of what appeared to be partly burnt wood chips with a lot of bits of stem in it. Apparently peat hasn't been banned yet, but many garden centres have already stopped stocking it.

It must have been a horrid night you had Vera wth that cough and not feeling well. It's good it went so quickly though and that you feel better now. Might it have been the increase in the dose of your tablets? What a shame about the cake you had planned. I think I would still enjoy it though, especially as a pud with some custard! :-) It's funny how our different heights affect our trousers. Some cropped trousers are full length on me! Your OH and mine do seem to be twins! Mine seems to pass everything paperwise he can to me to do and bemoans he hasn't got a PA now he's retired. He wanted an ISA setting up recently but I think he acted a bit unsure so that he could sit next to me while I did it. I told him yesterday that the advice was to have a fixed term energy tarriff now and his reaction was 'just go ahead and do it'. If it's tedious and time consuming it seems to be my job.

I'm getting fed up of the football disrupting other programmes now. Of course OH loves it although he has missed a lot of matches with going to his meetings.

BIL is here and he has mowed but he's not staying long and I want him to help with the big box filter. 18 degrees here.

Morning all,

16 degrees here and quite bright but pc says mostly cloudy.

BIL is here and I had a lie in this morning so I was'nt dressed or done my hair.

When you look at this compost it looks like grass cutting and pine needles which a lot of plants don't like. I think it mostly made with stuff from our green bins so we are buying back stuff we have paid for to take away. I can remember someone saying years ago that the only plants that could take the pine needles were Strawberries. I know they have these big plants that heat all the waste up which is like what happens in our home compost bins but I don't think it is good for the plants. I have bought Westlands peat free this year but did have some of my compost left from last year. I have so far used forty litre of the new compost so it will be interesting to see how those plants in it do. Also growing places could use compost left from last year and nutriants can leak out . When I had the nursary we used compost left from the year before and all those plants looked sick and it was mostly Pansies. When Monty uses the peat free he adds perlite and leafmoud which retains the moisture better than just the compost. I am going to see what my leafmould is like as I have a big bag of it behind my shed in the orchard which I have filled to the top twice with leaves from the garden and its now down to about a foot to 15 inches deep. Its one of those big white bags that sand came in like the bags of fertilizer the farmers have.

Good morning all 11 degrees here at the moment but bright and sunnt. I don't mind it being a bit cooler but nice if it stays bright.

going back to the compost. Looking at the 'root' balls of plants that have given up this year bought from garden centres, I think the problem stems from the actual planting of them by the growers. I bought plants later this year as I was away in May and when the plants have given up and died (even though watered as usual); there are hardly any roots formed. I am thinking that the growers have stopped using peat as well causing the problem.

I didn't have much success with it last year so tried a different brand this year. Always add pearlite. This compost seems to either go 'claggy' when wet or like concrete when dry. Lots in my garden group complain about it.

I am just asking but is this the first you have both used peat free compost? Try adding a bit of pearlite or some of those water retention granuals. I have added it to mine.

Thank you for all the comments re my dress. The jacket was bought with the dress as a set, I love the colour as well. I was just surprised and pleased that after twelve years it still fits. I think I have to find something else for the evening ‘do’. The wedding starts at 1.30 so it will be a long day so I think we will change as we are staying in the hotel it is held.

You had a busy day Annx and My plants from this year just seem to have stood still. I am leaving them hoping they will revive if it rains.

My head isn't too bad at the moment. I've started on the increased dosage of my beta blockers but it's too early yet to see if they are going to lessen the frequency and severity of the migraines.

I had a funny spell yesterday. We had our evening meal although I could only manage to eat half of mine. Almost immediately after eating I started coughing and coughed all evening and a good part of the night. I also spent the night alternately shivering and sweating. I felt dreadful when I got up this morning, so much so that I did a Covid test which was negative. I was concerned as we are going to a fundraiser coffee morning tomorrow and I was supposed to be making a cake. The strange thing was that after I had been up a couple of hours I suddenly felt better, stopped coughing and haven't coughed since. Goodness knows what that was all about but I don't seem to have any after effects.

I made my cake but I am not sure it has been very successful. It is a double orange cake and I've only made it once before, a long while ago. It was very successful then. However today's version doesn't seem to have risen up very much and I think might be a bit stodgy. It has a basic glace icing which is icing sugar and the juice of half a large orange. I only mixed it with half the amount of juice the recipe said and it was quite runny. I'll have a look at it in the morning and if I am still not happy I'll take a shop bought lemon drizzle cake that came with my delivery from Sainsbury's today..

I'm now going to email Sainsbury's with a complaint. Last time they delivered Braeburn apples instead of Gala and today they did the same. These aren't subs, it seems the picker has taken them from the wrong bit of the shelf. They do look a bit similar but he/she needs to be a bit more careful. Added to that I ordered just 2 bananas and they both arrived so badly bruised that even without peeling them you can tell they are all soft and brown inside. I know the apples and bananas didn't cost much but I think the company should be told. My suspicion is that the pickers are only given a limited time to fulfil their orders and don't have time to spend checking that the products are OK.

OH has just handed me a bit of paper on which he has written that some money should be transferred from one bank account to another of our accounts. Why is that my job? He's perfectly capable of doing it himself. When did I become his secretary? Oh yes, I remember, it would have been the day we married 61 years ago
To be fair he still checks over the monthly accounts, bank and credit card statements etc but I know he would happily hand them over if I offered to do them.

Time is getting on and I have things to do before I can sit down with the crossword or go to bed with my book so I'll say goodnight. Sleep well everyone.

It's good to see you are OK Annx. How annoying to find the label on your baking tin covering up scratches. That's very artful of them to put the label there. I used to like EWM as well but our shop closed and I haven't seen another one anywhere locally. I have bought OH a jumper or two from their online shop but I like to try on things like skirts and trousers.

It's funny how shorter ladies always say trousers in the stores are too long and we lanky ones are always moaning they are too short. Several of my friends pick up decent everyday trousers at Bon Marche but they don't do any longer than 29" which dangle somewhere above my ankle and make me look like Orphan Annie.

Mel, I hope you can get your wedding outfit sorted and do get your hair cut. It will probably thicken up when it is shorter and you know what they say - a change is as good as a rest. You might find you like the new shorter-haired you.

Gosh, Mandy, you are a one woman poppy factory. At this rate you'll be able to cover all the post boxes in town by yourself.

I hope your itching is easing now you have antihistamines as well Gwyn. It's lovely that the children had a beach day but I expect they missed you. I can't remember having such lovely outings when I was at school. In fact the only one I can remember was the first year pupils at our grammar school were always taken to a farm at Dunton Green. All I can remember of my visit there was that it rained and the farm was excessively muddy!

I haven't done this on my usual copy and paste system so think I will post it now before I lose it and then carry on in a separate post.

Evening All,

We are both ok thanks, but I had to help OH yesterday and then had one of those nights where I just couldn't get to sleep for hours. I started a post this morning, then had to do something else for OH, then lunch, then I escaped to the Factory Shop as he was having a very long phone conversation I could hear and I couldn't concentrate on what I wanted to do. At least I was able to use my £5 off £20 voucher and bought a cool, loose top, a replacement baking tin and cat mug! Annoyingly, when I peeled off the stick on label that was on the tin, I found it was covering several scuffs and scratches so it will have to go back!

Well the temperature has really dropped here now, PC says 18 degrees. and there was a nice breeze earlier but it feels a bit humid now. We had grey clouds but no rain which is what we need. I have given up on all but a tub of petunias now and even they don't look healthy. I think the heat has added to the compost problem. At this rate, next year I will be just having cacti and house leeks in my pots!

That's a shame about your trousers Mel, but if you can get them altered at least there is time. I am 5' 2" as well and have to alter most things. I find very few places stock shorter lengths in trousers, but M&S do. Hopefully your top will be ok. As AnnG says, it's a good idea to have your hair cut if it's getting thin and just below the shoulders is a good length to start with as you could still put it up if or when you want. She is right about Edinburgh Mill having a nice selection of clothes for weddings, as I was in their store in the garden centre down the road from here recently to look at their tops and thought it looked as if they had had a lot of new stock in..

Even more poppies Mandy! I wonder what your final total will be. What a nuisance about the wool for your new patterns though. I hope the new wool is just as nice and has been delivered now.

Thank you for the photos AnnG. I think your wedding outfit suits you perfectly and I love the jacket, as it's one of my favourite colours. The dress won't crease and looks comfortable to wear and is a nice length too. I hope that cough is on it's way too as they can be exhausting. So Cynth not only gave you it, but left you her garden to look after too.

I hope the headaches haven't been troublesome again Vera and that you are feeling better again. It has been so much hotter where you are which itself is very draining.

I hope the itching has been less today Gwyn. It's good you have finished them now, but a shame you missed the beach and expect the children missed you being there too.

An early night for me to catch up on the hours I lost last night. I hope everyone sleeps well. A bit of lemon juice and honey in a small glass of water to sip helps ease those tickles AnnG.

The last post I forgot to post!! again......

There is a Edinburgh wool shop in Bideford at Atlantic village if its still there/ I hav'nt been to Bideford since before lockdown. We used to have a nice dress shop ladies outfitters in Holsworthy but that went with covid. Theres only the factory shop there now and they did'nt have anything I liked. Years ago mum and I sold ladies clothes from her house and I only lived four doors up the road she was on the corner of. We sold Eastex, D L Barron, Jean Veron, Windsmoor, London Pride, Louis Ferro, and lots of other good makes it sort of spoiled me as I had such a lovely wardrobe of what would have been expensive clothes. Barnstaple is miles away and I don't like to go far on my own incase I breakdown. I'd rather have someone with me.

Been out in the garden this afternoon and now I must go round and corn the chickens.

Smoked haddock and broccoli tonight and fresh fruit afterwards.

Mandy I have to have long or three quarter sleeve because of my sensitive skin.

Thank you for the photos Ann.
You look very smart, but comfortable too.What a lovely outfit.

I wore a matching top and skirt in a similar weight material to your dress, when my niece got married and Ihad a plain jacket on top. My outfit was in pale turquoise tones and is so easy to care for, as it can all just go in the washing machine. These were all Eastex bought at great reduction prices, when they had a sale.

Anng's dress is pretty isn't it and the jacket goes well with it too, why not recycle Anng the royals do it ,it's a shame when things are only worn once and then just hang in the wardrobe .

Mel why don't you go for a cami top you could get a patterned one or just a plain one and then get a jacket like Anng's ,Bon Marche had a nice one in a few colours .

Bathroom all nice and clean now ,mats washed and back down just waiting for my wool delivery between 3 and 5 .

Mel last wedding I went to in 2022 I wore a matching skirt and top bought in Edinburfh Wool, they do have quite a good selection usually. The last time I wore a dress was daughter's wedding in 2018 and that was one I bought for a cruise in 2016. for second grandson's wedding in 2014 I wore a pale pink trouser suit (M&S). these days there is no uniform for weddings just as long as you are comfortable and avoid the colours suggested by the bride.
Can you not get to the shops to have a look? Some towns still have Edinburgh wool but otherwise they tend to have franchises in garden centres. Just checked there is an EW shop in Bideford.

All photos recieved and what a great outfit. I just wish mine could be as good. I did find a green collon top that would be ok with the trousers if I can get them altered but I hav'nt got a jacket that would cover the top of either the one I have or the one thats supposed to be coming. I could'nt tell you the lasttime I wore a dress like Mandy.

Hazel from up the top came down this morning and had a COC with me and we had a nice chat. I had forgotten I had'nt fed th girls so they had a late breakfast. Still got the broody who is a right pain.

Anng I looked back and saw Annx had'nt posted I do hope they are both ok.

Still bright here, some sun 16 degrees so quite pleasant. I am not going out, cancelled the photography group attendance, sent my photos by email so they will still get looked at but didn't want to risk a coughing fit there.

I have hopefully sent the photos now, let me know when you get them.

Mel, that doughnut couldn't have been very fresh it would have been better fed to the birds.

Gwyn shame to miss beach day but that is what comes of being a busy person. Hope the itching stops soon.

Mandy I am sure that wool will get used at some stage. Well done on the 55 poppies. Once you start you can't stop.

I still don't have any energy and now I am in charge of watering Cynth's garden as well. So it will be extra good if it rains.

hope you all slept well last night and Vera hope that your headache has disappeared now.

As somebody said, I can't remember if Ann was on here yesterday so hope all is OK there. Somehow I thought I saw her but haven't checked back.