Weekly Chat, Sunday September 19,2010

Catching up again.

Emma Peel - so glad Steed has passed his HGV and that now he can get some paid work. As you say - don't know where it will lead?

OG- still go to choir practice whether or not I am going on a Sunday morning.  Its the friendship and fellowship that are important as well - and of course the socialising afterwards at the local pub.

Gary - hope all is going well with your mums visit and that she is enjoying herself.

Not much happening on the LOTL cam tonight - looks quite windy up there.

Evening, Everyone.   Just flying in, to say how much we enjoyed the Hat Museum. We had great fun!   Friend picked me up from home with another friend, who I had not met before, but we got on fine.  We drove to Stockport, and found our way OK thanks to Mrs. SatNav and her bossy voice....   Parked in a large central car park & only had a short way to walk in the sunshine, to find the Museum.  Were surprised to find we did not have to pay for entry, and wandered around on the three floors, finding out for ourselves what was where.  In the basement were huge old machines used for sorting and shaping the wool into felt to make the basic shapes for the hats you see folks wearing in all the old photos. Also descriptions of how they dealt with the rabbit fur used to make the cheap hats.  An example too, of the tiny front parlour with black leaded stove  & wash boards used by the people who scraped a living from this trade.

On the middle floor was an exhibition of hats around the world, and all kinds of hats for all kinds of occasions. Then an area where you could yourselves try on all kinds of ridiculous, glamorous & funny headgear!  Oh how we laughed!  New Friend took lots of photos of us in most of the silliest we could find, we were giggling like schoolgirls & glad that there was no one else around....  Then upstairs to more exhibits, and at last a tidy Cafe where we resisted the naughty cake (yes, we did!)  and had a welcome cuppa before heading back home.  Altogether a relaxing and fun way of spending a couple of hours.

Lynette:   Loved the pink arm in the LotL pic.

Annette:  Don't think Vegemite is the same as Marmite, as I love Marmite in fact had some for lunch today before going out, but hated Vegemite when I tried it, & had to throw away the rest of the jar!  (sorry AQ)

OG:  Wonderful pics of Fatty!      Tiger:  Loved the Cat & Dog video, so funny!

Emma P:   So pleased to hear your OH got on OK with his HGV Test - congrats!   My OH took his HGV years ago when he stopped farming, and its been very handy over the years. He has let it lapse now, and says he would not enjoy it so much driving on the roads today, though, as its so much busier now everywhere (its very congested here in the N. West, on the roads )   Hope everyone enjoys the Golden Wedding, sounds like a nice way to celebrate it.  Michael McIntyre makes me laugh, too.

Heather:  I agree that the actual size of the family can increase or decrease the amount of family Dramas/Crisis and when you talk to other families, you find that they are all much the same in the end. There is just no escaping the Human Condition.  Pleased to hear that there is an end in sight for at least your S. in Law, regarding Afghanistan.

Have just enjoyed the last bit of the 'Tiger' series on TV, and am sitting with a very large indeed Martini & Lemonade.     'Night All.

Thanks Lynette

Linda, great to hear about your day.

Annette, don't think I've said, but sorry about your GD's situation. Like other's , sure things will work out in the end.

Emma, congrats on Stead passing the test. I think a Yorkie is in order!! lol

Sorry I can't comment more individually.

Diane   I thought of you when I saw this picture! See http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100924.html

Atmospheric picture, Tiger.

Morning, All.   Rained some more in the night last night ( its done that for 3 nights now and the ground is soggy everywhere)  It also seems to have rained every evening as we settle down to the TV , and we have had to draw the curtains early as its made it darker so much sooner.

Wonderful programme on the Tigers last night - good to know that there are some parts of the world still relatively unexplored, and that even the 'experts' can be surprised at what they find.

In our local newspaper, there has been a report that the rare Marsh Harrier is now to be found at a secret location on the Gowy & Mersey Washlands, which is south of the Mersey estuary (Cheshire).  It was kept quiet so as not to disturb them during their nesting season - but its now been revealed that they have  successfully raised 3 chicks!  It said that this bird is rarer than the Golden Eagle, with around 360 breeding pairs in the UK, mostly confined to the east coast, most of the only west coast birds being found in the Scilly Isles.  They also fly south for winter, going to beyond the Sahara, with the youngsters not likely to return to the UK for at least 3 years   I wish them luck and safe journey.

I'm dashing off again for various tasks, including an expedition to Sainsburys, and then this evening a nice meal with some friends who have other friends staying the weekend with them, whom we have not seen for ages.  They are new grandparents who will no doubt impart some tips for us newbies. (Incidentally, our Sweetpea, ' The Bump' , is now doing nicely and entering into the Olympic swimming team anytime soon.)

Have a Good Friday, All.

And what an absolutely stunning picture it is Tiger. Superb!

I did see the moon last night but only briefly through breaks in the cloud, and then Jupiter just as briefly.

Morning ALL, hope you are having better weather than me. Heavy rain and thunder yesterday and  dull, breezy and drizzly this morning.

Edited to say, I see you are having similar weather Lindy, not surprising, being in the same part of the country. Hope it brightens up later. I watched the first episode of Lost Land of the Tigers but have recorded the whole series and looking forward to watching parts two and three today.

Good Morning All, The rain didn't arrive here yesterday but doesn't look as if we will avoid it today.

I didn't have chance to comment yesterday so now playing catch up !

 Cirrus, your mug is lovely.Just remembering that you nearly gave it away to your friend.

Lynette, Do enjoy your son's Birthday Party tomorrow. Thanks for all the LOL pictures.

OG, I have heard people say that steroids have increased their weight but yours have the opposite effect on you.

Gary, Good to see you are enjoying yourself. Have a good time in Vermont. Your Mum's holiday must be flying by.

Dibnlib, You sound extremely busy, I hope you are taking care of your injury.

Emma, Congratulations to Steed.

Margo, I think there should be a ' holiday fairy' who does all the washing and ironing when the holiday is over. I hope you can now see the end of all your laundry.

OG, Loved your picture of Fatty. It is lovely, how, from a garden full of birds, one character stands out from the rest. In our experience, it always proves difficult to find people to take on voluntary/church tasks, which the people with the loudest voices, insist should be done but don't want to do themselves!!

Linda Sounds like a fun few hours at the hat museum. Good news about the Marsh Harrier. I have seen them on the Wirral and I notice there has been one spotted for the last few days.

Alan, Still thinking of you, your wife and all the family.

I must go to Waitrose and do some shopping. Hope to look in later. 

Loud peal of thunder here just now, seems we are in for a repeat of yesterday's storms. I was going to go out but will perhaps wait a while to see what develops.

Good morning original goldfinch love the pic of the wood pigeon and young chaffinch.  Talk about little and large.

It is quite breezy here today and I have another line of washing out, not much sun but think the wind will help to dry it.  Down to just two bags of washing now plus odds and ends in the the two washing baskets, so getting there slowly but surely.  A lot of the washing will not be ironed now as I will be packing it away until next summer and will do it then so that does alleviate some of the ironing which I hate.  Lucky that OH does all his own ironing and enjoys it much more than I do.

Hope you have a nice day in Edinburgh tomorrow.  I visited back in the late 70's and enjoyed a fornight just outside Edinburgh.  Have always wanted to go back as it was all so interesting with the museums, galleries and of course the Castle. 

We are lucky enough to have a Waitrose where we do all our shopping.  Some people will say it is expensive but the quality of their meat, fruit and vegetables is excellent.  To be honest we do not find it any more expensive than other supermarket and they do have some very good offers.

Have a good day and weekend.