Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 3 December 2023

Lovely pictures Rusty. They do bring back memories, thank you.
The closing of Browns must have left a big gap. I had thought that the shopping would not be as good as it once was.
I do not think that anywhere has fully recovered from the Covid effect.

Good, that posted. I replied previously, but was signed out!

I had forgotten the Grosvenor Centre. We did not think there were any good restaurants in Chester when we lived there. I remember a French one, Francs? We preferred the pubs in Wales! Some had good food, and were friendly.

Morning all I wonder is the problems with the site is due to the impending new website - see notice below.

Anyone else had anymore information on this? Sorry cant get it bigger.

Hello all. Just been reading all your news. Hope those sorting out their Medical cover manages success.
No. We can't fault our NHS in times of real emergency and do take it for granted at times, however, sometimes things
do go wrong. Still, we are lucky in this country as all medical issues are mostly free.

We have been experiencing dull, wet, and frosty weather over the last week. Today is dull, windy and wet, nothing new there.

Managed church last Sunday as was on door duty. Giving it a miss this Sunday as dau has to be at her church a lot earlier, something to do with Junior Church. Will be going in the evening the following week for the annual carol service. Not putting decs up until at least this weekend, always find that folks tend to put them up too early.

Thinking of those who have lost loved ones around the Christmas period, its always hard when an anniversary like that comes up, can't believe its 2 years since I lost Ray on Jan 5th.

To all who are suffering in any way with illness, hope you will feel better soon.

Harelady: New website? Argh. The gremlins will be busy....

We still haven't really recovered from the last 'new website' ...

I don’t like the sound of a new website!
It has never got light today. It has been incredibly wet, dull and yuk. I have been out to lunch with the ladies birding group. We should have gone birding first but that was cancelled for obvious reasons! We had a lovely 2 course lunch and there were feeders outside the windows. A very convivial time was enjoyed. The roads were horrid driving home, lots of standing water.

Took a friend on a quick nip to Standen this morning to see their Christmas decorations, which are always lovely. We did dash around the gardens but it was bitterly cold - a really nasty north wind. We were glad to dive into the house, which was beautifully warm!

I have a long drive to Somerset tomorrow. My brother in law tells me there is a lot of water around - apparently Wincanton race course is more like a river! And there is a lot more rain on the way overnight. Could be an interesting journey. It's always crowded - M25/M3/A303 is not to be recommended, especially on a Friday. Without the many sets of road works and the weather ... anyone got a magic carpet I can borrow?

Now just finished the first of three Zoom meetings today. Will it never stop?!?!?

Hope everyone is surviving the awful weather. And that those with medical problems are coping. My knees don't like this weather - what with walking up and down the bowls green for three and a half hours yesterday, and up and down the steps at Standen this morning, they are complaining painfully!! Several hours in the car tomorrow probably won't help either ... hey ho.

Not managing to keep up with this or anything else – nose and throat are streaming, coughing and sneezing day and night – and therefore in pain and short of energy. If I am still bad on Monday, I shall have to contact the doctor.

We did get our shopping done yesterday – all the butchery on our list and a few extras there, and also bits of Christmas things at garden centre – including Waitrose Stollen slices in their mini-Waitrose. It was a lovely sunny day and the sneezing was mostly controlled with multiple handkerchiefs. Today was quite wet at times with no sunshine. J walked into town today to try to discuss two possible places to volunteer – nobody available in either! His own fault that he went on the wet day, as he allowed himself to be too late Tuesday and Wednesday!

ANNETTE – sorry, “over the water” is round the top of the Solway Firth, between Dumfriesshire (Scotland) and Cumbria (England) – filled by several parallel river estuaries.

RUSTY – lovely photos of Chester!

PAT – I hope your church meting room was heated last evening. Nothing below zero here last night. Wishing you safe travel to Somerset this weekend – and good luck with the knees!

HARELADY – haven’t heard anything elsewhere else about new RSPB website – having “lost” me last time, maybe they will find me this time!