What are you all up to
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"Every time I look out of the window, him opposite is standing there staring back" says MiL
"Don't you think that he is saying exactly the same thing?" says I. "Do you think he fancies you?"
"Go and wash your mouth out".
Such is the level of daily excitement in the Wherenext household.
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I’m still cutting roses for house here. Might as well as frost is starting to get them. I have lost my gardening mojo at the moment, plenty to do but I just can’t be bothered to think about tackling it. A Mum day for me, so interrupted anyway. Awaiting various deliveries from all over World for OH birthday next month, it’s a lottery wondering when they will arrive, and where the various delivery services will stuff them🤨 Our new alarm system is fully up and running, cameras, notifications, bings, bongs and beeps. Linked to various devices so anyone who walks past gate I know about. Still think 5-7 stone of hound, with a good set of gnashers is a prime deterrent, but at least now we can identify which jobsworth is the one who dumps parcels in the bin, despite two doorbells and a note on door in huge letters saying we are in!😡
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We are not long home from a lovely 3 night break at Strathclyde Park club site we were going to head down to Keswick or Blackpool but got put off by the weather down that way so decided just to stay local. Had a good day at the Riverside museum in Glasgow on Friday then a good day in Edinburgh yesterday visiting son and family. Easy hour tow home today but the roads were very wet. Van now back in its space and emptied as we won’t be away again now until probably February as we have a lot on during the run up to Christmas and we don’t tend to go away during January. Got the van all drained down and the cupboards emptied. The 2025 season has been good we have been to some of our usual places such as Blackpool, Scarborough, the lakes, Southport, Durham and also had a great 2 weeks in Norfolk a place we had never been to before and it was excellent. Also had plenty of weekends at our local sites Strathclyde, Ayr Craigie and The Ranch 57 night away in total which is a bit less than normal but we had a couple of significant birthdays and anniversaries so had a bit of time when we couldn’t get away.
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The tree is up and looks pretty. The rest can wait for a while. Both granddaughters came to do it, Christmas music was played and mince pies. All with lots of laughter. That made me laugh @Wherenext families eh. - One of our Granddaughters has been seeing a lad for a while but has kept it under wraps saying little and giving nothing away, cos her uncle will tease her and her girl cousins, (all our grandchildren are very close) are like Sherlock Holmes on social media, finding the lads profile etc. Yesterday she was a bit more informative until she mentioned that he is a Liverpool supporter. Oh. OH originally from Manchester and since his grandad the family have been avid and loyal supporters of Man United. Now it’s the talk of the family, OH, Son and grandsons. This poor lad, they will be kind to him but he’s in for some teasing. Families eh.
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Oh dear @DEBSC.
Reminds me of my youth. My mother was born and bred in Liverpool and so I had no option as a child but to support the Reds, even though they were a Second Division team at the time and Everton were first division. We were in the RAF so it didn't matter but we moved to Liverpool when I was 13 as my father completed his 22 years. We actually moved to Anfield, about 400 yards down from Anfield Road. So eventually I went to the home games with my dad. When I was 22 I transferred from Liverpool office to Manchester as promotion prospects were greater there. I have to admit I was a tad worried, totally misplaced as it turned out although I did get more ribbing from my mates back in Liverpool, one of them refusing to speak to me ever again. I really enjoyed my time in Manchester particularly as I met the fortunate Mrs.WN.😂
I stopped following Liverpool the day of the Heysel tragedy and to this day have no affinity with the team, merely enjoying (mostly) being neutral. I fear for your GDs boyfriend but it will be a true test of his mettle if he is serious. Good luck to him, although at least he has some ammunition of his own to use.
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@Wherenext it will all be friendly banter, or the matriarch of the family (oh that sounds good 🤭) will sort them out. Poor granddaughter was just confused that it could ever be an issue.
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Anfield Tour on my bucket list, I have done Old Trafford, I was an avid Man Utd fan as a teenager, Dad was an avid Leeds Utd supporter, went to most home games, but wouldn’t take me as far too violent at the time. I did go to my local home team on a regular basis. OH’s family are from Middlesbrough, so I (half) support Boro. They were a very good team when Gareth Southgate was there.
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@Takethedogalong we done the Anfield tour when staying at the Chester club site a few years ago. Highly recommended had a great day out SWMBO even enjoyed it as she is a big fan of Jurgen Klopp and he was the manager at the time. A couple of pics from our visit below done the old Trafford tour many years ago when oldest son stayed in Manchester
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Been a weekend of mixed weather. Had a couple of wonderful weekends for grandtwins sporting achievements. Sophie has scored 4 goals in 2 matches and one of the goals was a screamer. Last week Luke won a gold medal in a Karate competition and today he passed the grading for his black belt.
No decorations up yet, probably be mid December before that gets done. One of our neighbours has had theirs up for 3 weeks!
Lovely to see the variety of photos being posted3 -
Hi @Oneputt I have noticed some early decorations up on drive between home and Mum’s as well. Ours won’t go up until mid December, but I am working on a wreath which is going to be an all year round wall decoration, at the moment. Not quite finished, but should look stunning when completed.
@Francis thanks for the photos of Anfield. I assume they have a museum? The one at Old Trafford is very good, it’s a long time since I was there, in fact I went to a work conference there.
This is my wreath, got more feathers coming from BIL to fill out and grade from centre, then shotgun cartridges for the centrepiece itself. Quite large, but very lightweight. I shall be doing fresh Xmas wreaths as well soon, we now have an imitation tree, but I like to use foliage to make the house smell nice.
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Hiya @nelliethehooker . I’ve had the same issue with my control a few times now. Just for future reference…
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We had a good few days away in Peak District. This picture was taken last Thursday when we had a drive around Castleton and Edale, the weather was freezing cold but beautifully sunny, lots of people up on Mam Tor, hopefully with good thermals!! We then went to the Derwent Valley dams, where the Derwent Dam was full and flowing down the spillway - impressive!
We had planned a day out on Friday but our car decided not to agree and for some reason the EPB (electronic parking brake) wouldn’t release; after much fiddling, googling, and handbook reading it still wouldn’t play ball so we spent the day in the cottage waiting for the RAC. About 4pm OH said I’ll just go out to try the car again; for reasons unknown to the universe, and a bit more juggling the blooming thing worked! Too late in the day to do anything of course but thankfully we sorted it before the RAC man spent his 5 minutes to do the same thing - we may have had red faces!!! At least we were able to get to Nottingham to visit grandson at Uni and take him out for lunch, although he didn’t fancy walking around the WinterWonderland in the town centre, in the rain, so we took him back and headed for home.
Glad your eye operation was such a success @InaD, great news. Also pleased to hear Margaret is doing well @DavidKlyne. It has been good to see all the recent pictures from everyone, the Christmas fairs and museums look amazing.@DEBSC really sorry to hear of your Grandaughters problems. So sad for her if she can’t continue with her course. Hopefully there is something she can contribute to the course, and it could help toward something in her field for the future. She has shown such dogged determination and bravery, good luck to her whatever she decides to do.
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@heddlo Good to see you getting out and about.
David
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As soon as I saw your photo @heddlo - I knew that was Mam Tor - before I had read your narrative. It's very distinctive. Sorry to hear about your car - I has the same thing happen to me in one of my Discos, years ago. It happened at a particularly difficult / dangerous junction in the middle of Hull and I had traffic belting past me in all directions but no amount of persuading, would get it to release. Even tried setting off in low ratio 1st and that didn't work. After about 20 minutes when I was just about to call the Police, fearing an accident would happen, it miraculously cleared itself. Apparently, LR recommend servicing the parking brake every 2000 miles if the vehicle is regularly used off road (which mine was).
I've mentioned the boys next door -well, we heard some great news, yesterday. Stanley (8) is a keen sportsman and is particularly good at cricket. It turns out he's been spotted by one of Yorkshire County Cricket Club scouts and he's been invited for a trial! Talk about grabbing 'em young😀. He's now got his sights set on becoming a professional cricketer!! (It was an astronaut, last week🤔).
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@DavidKlyne thank you and it was good to have some time away from home. It was our first ‘holiday’ this year having had a busy year with family visiting, dog sitting, and operation. I know you have said Margaret is nervous about driving the car because she thinks it too large, I can’t remember what you have now, but we have a Sorento and I have driven quite a few times since my operation and feel much safer in that rather than being the same height as an artic wheel. I feel for you as it must be so frustrating not being able to drive your car, OH would be climbing the walls I think. Is there someone who could go out with Margaret to help with the nervousness? Or maybe a short refresher course using your own vehicle? My Parents in Law used to enjoy coach trips out, sometimes a day trip somewhere or a trip away in UK and abroad, is that something that you would consider, just for a break?
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I too can recommend trying a coach tour @DavidKlyne. I was looking around some years ago for something special for my sister’s 50th birthday, and took a look at Just Go tours. The one I chose was a Just Go/ National Trust 5 day tour, around somewhere neither of us had visited and neither of us wanted to drive round, namely Kent and Sussex. Lovely hotel, two places to visit most days, and we just sat back and let the coach driver do the work. My sister was astonished I chose it, as I get travel sick on buses, but I coped really well. We got to see, amongst other places, Chartwell, Bateman’s, Wakehurst Place, Knole, Bodiam Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, and could do what we wanted once at each venue, such as house tour, walking, etc….. By day 2 everyone had got to know each other enough to have a chat, share a laugh, and it was a relaxing, stress free break. My Sis and I were the two youngest on the tour by a long way, so it gives you an idea of the age of most participants, retired over 65s and a good deal older, some very sprightly, some needing aids, even scooters. It was well planned, well organised and something I would definitely do again for a different way of seeing an area with horrible driving queues and constant heavy traffic. The coach driver even diverted to pick up and drop of my Sis and I, as our tour originated around Newcastle. There are lots of pick up venues, and different “interests”, Just Go do birdwatching with the RSPB and some garden based tours.
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@Takethedogalong you have actually got us thinking about this Coach travel idea. We would enjoy visiting the places you saw on your trip but, as you say, we wouldn’t want all the driving around to see them. 🤔
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Finished another jigsaw. I've noticed a marked improvement in dexterity in my right hand fingers since starting to do them earlier this year. Plus Mrs WN says I'm not as grumpy 😁
Good to see you enjoyed yourselves @heddlo. Love that part of the world.
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A wet day yesterday but this afternoon on Windermere the sun came out although it was cold, still rain or shine it's always wonderful here.
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After I posted, I had a look on the Just Go website, to see what was on offer. They still do some lovely 4-5-6 day tours to various areas of the UK, some in conjunction with NT, possibly HHA. The prices have shot up though from when I went, but it was over a decade ago now. We had a nice hotel with a lovely swimming pool, so could easily fill the evenings after dinner with a nice swim, and as you are off quite early next day, we tended to go to bed quite early. We got a very nice breakfast, and good dinners, lunch was bought out, but wasn’t an issue as every place we visited (bar Bodiam) had a nice eatery. Drinks in the hotel were an astronomic price, but Canterbury was on our first tour day, and all the coach stocked up with wine for the rest of the week🤣 We had a ball fruit picking my sister and I, so always had something to eat with us. Coaches were comfy and nice. My Sis has done South of France by coach tour as well (she won’t fly). Staying in a good hotel is key, I would prefer to have a pool every time. But it’s a relaxing way of seeing SE, we wouldn’t take MH there, unless around coast, far to busy with traffic. We got around 3 hours at each historic site, Bodiam a bit less as we had longer at Chartwell. So it makes for around a 7-8 day out, but relaxing of course on coach and at lunch. We visited Knole coming back home on last day, so only full day of travel tends to be first one.
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@Takethedogalong great information, many thanks.
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There don’t seem to be any NT property based tours on the website at the moment, but we have had paper guides outlining tours all through 2025, similar to what I did. Maybe still in planning stage🤷♀️
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@Wherenext they are 11 and a half. Long way to go before they decide what the future holds.
Took the van into the dealer this morning as the motor mover packed up about 2 months ago
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Spot on @Freddy55 that was just what I was advised to do by the service manager at our caravan dealer. I no doubt had read your previous post but I had completely forgotten about it.
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Re Coach Tours, this is something we have done in the past, although quite a few years ago.On one trip we travelled all the way down to Sorento in Italy, which was a long way. I wouldn't rule it out as they seem to make a lot of sense for people in our situation. I did also wonder about rail tours, the only trouble is they are not quite so door to door! At the moment we are some way off going on holidays but we can dream.
Margaret walked across to the local shops today on her own. I saw her striding out so she is walking well. Her wound issue does seem to be getting a bit better. She has booked a hair appointment later in the week and intends to go by bus, on her own so she must be feeling quite confident?
On the driving front on of our sons also suggested a driving instructor to take her out but she is not keen. We had two Sorento's and she was happy to drive those but this was over 12 years ago and since then she has been used to driving a smaller car until I changed if for the Niro. Sadly we have decided to investigate selling the Niro as it looks as if it will be gathering dust until well into the Spring. I did have a letter from the DVLA this morning saying they were still following up medical reports but otherwise no real news. If I eventually get some good news re driving again I will look for a new smaller car, perhaps an EV but it might be another hybrid, only speculation at the moment!
David
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Just a thought @DavidKlyne but would it better financially to hang on to the Niro until the spring and then part exchange it for a newer but smaller vehicle, as can imagine that you will loose a lot if you try to sell it privately. Pleased to hear that Margaret is making good progress.
Your grandtwins are certainly doing great spotswise @Oneputt well done them! It is a shame that you have to get your motor mover seen to, will it be a repair or a full replacement?
Good to read that you had a fine time in the Peak District @heddlo but most strange about the car. There is so much that can effect the complicated electrics in the modern car these days that one needs a degree in engineering to carry out ones own repairs.
We have had another dry, and sunny, day and it has been a bit less cool that the previous few. I was back to the dentist for the completion of my root canal treatment, which took nearly an hour! I wonder just how much it would have cost had we not been with Denplan, as the dentist also took a couple of xrays to make sure everything was right. Back again tomorrow for our 3 monthly visit to the hygienist, and then again in the new year to get a cap fitted to the repaired tooth.
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@DavidKlyne I am exploring rail tours as well. We are close to two mainline stations, Sheffield and Doncaster, so can access East Coast and Cross Country trains quite easily, including Kings Cross and St Pancras. At the moment only looking at day trips and maybe a couple of nights away, but eventually might look at Eurostar and connections to places like Italy, south of France, etc….. some places in UK are a nightmare to get to, but others are surprisingly easy. I am hoping to talk my OH into a sleeper to Penzance, then fly to Scillies for something different at some point. Hopefully with our bikes🤞Scillies are gorgeous.
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We've never done train or coach holidays, ( @DavidKlyne and others...), but perhaps it's something for us to consider in the future. We've never been on a cruise liner either... so something else to add to the list. Glad Margaret is making good progress @DavidKlyne
Been to the hospital today... this time for an eye appointment - a few years ago they found a spot behind my one eye, which they think might be a birth mark, or something like!! No change to it - it's been the same for the last 10 years!! They do a vision test at the same time - my one eye is slightly better and one eye slightly worse than last time, but absolutely fine for driving - no problem. That was a huge relief!
Carol is making good progress with the new hip, but life is busy at the moment..... the usual lead up to Christmas Concerts/ Services etc..... and I fear we are not going to get out in the van until after Christmas... ☹️☹️
David
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