What are you all up to
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Our white cars were Mercs Francis, company cars before OH became self employed, he liked them but I found them a bit hefty to drive. Our present EV is silver and black plus a green 70s MG the last of our old cars.
What a cake KJ! Hope the birthday boy enjoys it. 🎉
Hope you feel better soon and can fly off to see the family Heddlo.
Corners thanks for the Whitley Bay photos it's somewhere we visit often and it's always enjoyable (if I ever get one of those Italian ice creams...!)
Another cold dull day prompted us to head for the coast this morning where we finally saw the sun. Whether it's the Viking effect (the Vikings were first spotted off Portland) but the gig rowers were out in force. Not to mention a couple of hardy swimmers and people looking at the recent rocks falls (a bit surprising to see toddlers being walked under the cliffs as there are big warning signs around. I suspect more falls are on the way.
The air was so clear we could see Portland Bill in the east right round to Berry Head in the west.
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That’s bad luck Heddlo, hope it’s just a cold🤞
Great photos Corners and Brue. We like the NE coast. Enjoy watching the gigs as well when in Cornwall, quite fancy a go in a ladies boat, mind not sure I would be fit enough.
Home early again, OH is busy cleaning our fleet, MH was filthy from our overnight trip to Cotswolds. Persuaded him to do Mini as well😁 Hoping for an hour in garden now……
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There were three gigs out TDA, one for youngsters, one for assorted ages and one I think for anyone in receipt of a pension...mind you it is hard work and you can hear the shouts for the oars 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 and then again....right out into the waves...
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We have 8 days B2, fly out on 7th February. OH is suffering more than me, man ‘flu of course!!!😩 I’m sure it’s because we have been running around shopping for son and grandchildren (we had a list sent!). I wore a mask but OH insisted it was fine - he was wrong!!! Reading the car colour posts, we have only had one white car, one black one, had a dark blue, a light blue, a really lovely metallic dark green, we have even had a yellow one once, that was just mine though. The last 2 have been various shades of silver, boring but safe. The seaside pictures looked lovely brue, made us want to pop off to the coast somewhere next week ourselves, perhaps a change of air will help get rid of the germs?!
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I’ve got a white Juke with a reddy maroon trim on the wing mirrors, head lights etc. I quite like it as it has a few extras wouldn’t change it but it doesn’t ‘turn on a sixpence’ like my old Micra. OH has a Hyundai Tucson I picked the colour it’s a reddy maroon. It was accidental, and I know I’m sad but I think the colours, with the trim on mine matching his, compliment each other when they are side by side on the drive, yep I’m a saddo.
Luckily I was late feeding the birds this morning, just about to go out there, bird food in hand, when I saw a hawk sitting on the railing of our decking right outside the kitchen window. Not sure exactly what it was maybe a sparrow hawk, but it sat there for a while so I got a good look at it, it was quite big. I’ll keep an eye out now, if it returns I’ll stop bird feeding for a while, I don’t want it to be the hawks feeding place. Already have to keep an eye on next doors four cats! Oh and the flipping squirrels.
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I think we've had most colours of cars, even 2 Yellow ones (Mrs WNs) and a Lime Green one (company car). Doesn't bother us. Good job really as we're off to Shrewsbury tomorrow to check out a replacement for OHs car and it's a black one! If the rest of it is what we want from a car then colour doesn't bother us.
Cold but sunny morning, so we took advantage of it and had a longish walk until lunchtime.
Hope it's just a heavy cold Heddlo.
What a cake Kj.!!!!!!👏👏 Compliments to your DD.
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Great cake, Kjell your DD certainly has a special talent. Hope it tastes as good as it looks.
Love the photos, CC and brue, and that of the Interceptor too, tda.
Hope your cold is nothing more, heddlo, and that it clears up before your trip.
Fingers crossed that the car you are going to see is just what you are after, WN.
We have only had one white car, a Marina, which was a devil to keep clean. Have had a variety of colours, including an saffron orange Triumph Herald, a yellow Mini, a red Fiesta but the majority have been blue including our present Volvo.
Finished the inside cleaning of the caravan and OH got all the seat covers back so we are all set for the off, whenever that might be. Another fine if full and cooler day, but just now has a short shower.
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The cake has been cut, and more than half eaten so far, and was indeed delicious. Half of the larger bottom tier remains and will soon disappear. We got a large slice home with us, which we have just had for supper.
We went down to DD's at 12 to find SIL doing the vacuuming while DD and the children had gone to pick up the party food order from Morrisons. That did not go too well as they told her she could not get the pizzas she had ordered as there was a shortage of cheese for making them!! Seems strange when they have plenty of cheese on their shelves!
She was told to choose any 4 pizzas she wanted off the shelves, so that was not so bad. Then when she got home she discovered that the so called "kids sandwich platter" had been wrongly labelled and contained entirely different fillings. This had been Callum's choice, but fortunately a "melt down" was avoided.
The party went well, 27 guests, most of the food was eaten, the birthday boy blew out his candles and smiled a lot, and the children were all well behaved.
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We are pondering over a very big decision at the moment🤔🐶🤔🐶
😁
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Ooo errr Ttda. Have you asked pooch for his opinion?
A nice day for a drive so we pootled down to Shrewsbury via the scenic route as the garage was on the east side of the city and the normal route in for us would be from the west. Didn't want to have to drive around interminable ring road.
Mrs WN very happy with car and we managed to get extra £500 plus a full service thrown in so we decided to buy it. Pick it up in about 10 days.
Drove back same way so stopped at The Boathouse beside the lake in Ellesmere for a bite to eat. Lovely stopover point if anyone passing through plus its dog friendly and plenty of walking opportunities from there as well.
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New dog tda?!!
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Bakers2 I met up with the lady who gave you your Tudor Tour on Friday at a volunteer get together yesterday. She said you were a nice group to show around - the best of the weekend. Do go back to the Museum at some point it has some wonderful exhibits there, including some of the wonderful objects made by the French inmates at the Norman Cross prison. There are also some lovely child friendly exhibitions that your grandson might enjoy when he is a bit older. It is closed on Mondays though.
WN Glad you got a car that Mrs WN likes. Exciting!
By the way our neighbour has just got a new car this weekend - it is white!!
I have just renewed OH's passport online. It was very quick and easy. He had his passport photo taken at a chemist in town that does passport/driving licence passports at a very reasonable cost. It remains to be seen when they new passport arrives though
but he doesn't need it in any hurry.1 -
Takethedogalong, the suspense! When will we know?
Turned out a lovely day, sun out no wind 😃. Managed an hour in the garden. Kill or cure rose pruning 😱. Discovering snowdrops too, only able to access front gardens.
No work today, the slabs supplied weren't what we thought we'd ordered. Turns out a muddle on both us and suppliers sorted by company doing the work. Upshot is they've discontinued ones we thought we were having, but they do have enough to do the back and side patio and will take back those delivered. We do have to have those around the raised beds, but it's the best compromise we can make. 🤞 3 guys tomorrow so veg area should be laid completely, retaining wall continues to be built and 😱😱😱 back patio will start go be lifted. It'll all come out in the wash! You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs etc I keep telling myself.
Wherenext sounds like a successful morning Wherenext.
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Don't know our bank balance will agree with you Bakers.
There isn't a great deal wrong with the existing car but we wanted an automatic as the little runaround. There aren't too many makes and models that do them small. The existing one will make an excellent first car for someone and Mrs WN will be a bit sad to see it go.Good luck with building work. You don't do things by half do you?
Once again Millie has reminded me to renew our EHIC cards. Thanks Millie.
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OH took me by surprise this lunchtime, wondered if now might be a good time to get a pup, as we are confined to barracks at the moment, with too much down time on our hands, the sort you could use to look after and train a pup. Choccy would be delighted, he loves other dogs, and it would be carefully supervised not to mither him too much. I can take it with me up to Mum’s as she has a very secure garden, and she and Sis would adore having a dog around again. Just a bit undecided what to go for really. Another Labrador? Another Airedale? Or, slightly smaller, an Irish Terrier? All gorgeous, but all need careful research.🤔
Will it tear the house apart (✔️)
Will it eat the vehicles (✔️)
Will it cost us a fortune (✔️)
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Lovely day here, not all that chilly either.
Should have been taking the cat to the vets this morning for her yearly jag but had to rearrange.
OH had to go off to our sons house to meet up with the gas engineer to have the gas turned back on. House has been empty for years. Now getting it ready to be sold. New boiler going in on Thursday, new front and back doors to follow shortly. Then it's the kitchens turn and finally a clean through.
I decided to give the caravan a bit of a clean, not a full one but I did clean off the green slime that seemed to have collected around the handles, bottom awning rail, bottom of door etc. Looking better for it I must say. I'll give it a full wash near time of going away.
WN glad OH liked the car and you got a good deal. Like you, the colour doesn't really matter, I think we've had most colours though not a yellow or lime green one. They all get dirty at some point and need washing 🤪
Beautiful sunset tonight, it's great to get up to light in the mornings and have sunsets again, I do miss them in winter grey days. I know feel like spring is just around the corner. Snowdrops are out now. 😊
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Good to hear that searches and purchases for cars are going well. OH has been trying to help daughter's partner find a new van, not easy.
Nice day here too TG, I went off to the dentist this morning, then realised it was the wrong day, so back tomorrow.
TDA it's three years since we got our little rescue puppy, the "mighty atom"...they are hard work but for us it's been good fun too. Hope things go well in your decision making.
Sounds like you are doing well with the landscaping B2, OH has been moving things around today to get things in place for the new fencing, looks like the mild weather will help and make it easier.
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Glad to see that the car you went to view suited you both, WN, even if it is black!!😁
I think I'd put my money on you getting an Airedale again, tda, but one may be hard to source theses days as there do not seem to be many around. We had the chance of a Working Cocker puppy when we were away before Christmas, but we thought it unfair on Flyte to have a youngster in the house considering his condition.
B2, good to read that the garden work is progressing, even if there has been a mix up along the way.
Another fine day but still rather chilly. Not done much, just a bit of juggling of our savings and cashing in some very ancient £1 premium bonds for a couple of newer higher value ones.
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Looks like a few of us have been getting new cars. I spent most of the weekend getting used to our new one lots more toys than our previous Volvo so taking a bit of getting used to. Tow bar can’t be done until the end of next week so won’t be away in the caravan until the middle of Feb now hopefully though by then the weather is a bit better. Heading to the Glasgow caravan show later this week looking forward to that we certainly won’t be getting a new van but like the day out
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We have had a very disappointing day on the car front.
Having discussed yesterday with our son, grandson, and daughter, to ascertain that GS is sure he does not want the Smart (he does not like the look of it apparently), we decided to take a trip to Ayr tomorrow, in the Smart, to have a test drive and get a trade in price on the Smart.
OH e mailed dealer to check they had not sold the car they had, only to be told that they never had one.......32 weeks to order!!
We researched all this through the Car Wow website, they forwarded offers and prices from dealers on what we wanted. No mention of having to place an order. The way they replied was as if they had the car in stock, very disappointing.
We are not in a hurry, but a lot could happen in 32 weeks........at our age we may even no longer be around!
OH has asked them if the price would be fixed at time of order, once we know the answer, we will decide whether to still go ahead.
Otherwise, today has been reasonably sunny off and on. OH did some washing and drying with the power from the roof, and put a couple of coats of Danish Oil on the new bathroom counter tops. Still another 2 coats needed, but they are looking good.
I have been searching in the garage and finally located some mahogany boards that are big enough to make new bathroom door facings from. All I need now is DD to come and help me to get them down from where they are hanging way up in the (rather high) ceiling.
Tomorrow is Nathan's actual birthday, and DD has apparently taken the day off work and may take the boys to a soft play venue not so far away, so maybe they can come here afterwards to assist. Waiting to hear what their exact plans are.
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It’s quite a quandary Nellie. We have loved owning Labradors, but you know the health issues we have faced, and it’s heartbreaking having a pet struggle, so we are wary of another Labrador. BIL has lots of connections with gundog fraternity, and is very clued up around dogs, so he might find us something from working stock, rather than just going to a breeder. Another BIL has an Airedale x Irish Terrier, fabulous dog, size of an Airedale, temper of an IT, and unfortunately not that well socialised. Great cross, but needs some firm handling. IT’s are smaller than Airedales, so a tad more room in MH for all of us. We know a few Airedale breeders, reputable ones, so could wait for a litter. Then there is the Airedale Rescue to consider…….🤔
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Kj
There seems to be a very long wait for new cars these days. As I mentioned earlier I ordered a new Kia Niro on 1st November expecting delivery in February. Had a phone call from the dealer at beginning of January saying no news on possible arrival date. I would prefer it arrived after 1st March to get the new registration but now wonder if even that is a bit optimistic? Fortunately only put £100 deposit down which is refundable. They have made a reasonable offer on my current car but I don't think that is set in concrete and will be reassessed when the new car arrives.
David
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Fun and games here overnight. I got up at 5.30am to give the pooch a tablet, no electrics, everything off. It did look like a general power cut, as nothing tripping in house, and other houses completely dark. But no, just us. Apparently it’s an underground connection to our main fuse box. Very impressed with Northern Power, rang us back within 15 minutes, someone out an hour later to check that was the issue, and at 9am we had six technicians, two vans and a mini digger all raring to go. My first thought was “that’s some electric saved”🤣 Gas kettle saved breakfast👍
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Bit of a mixed day here so far, sunshine one minute rain the next and we have strong winds.
We gave up buying new cars about 12 years ago, they lose so much value in the first year. We have had a number of pre reg cars that have been great VFM.
Our latest tow car we bought, was only 11 mths old, great price and is still like new at coming on 5 years old. Mileage is still well below the average as it was when we bought it. We are often contacted to see if we would be willing to sell it, the offers are £3000 more than we paid for it. Would be tempting but the cost to replace it would be greater and we like what we have.
I've looked at replacing my runabout but prices are ridiculous just now, so I'll hang onto it for a bit longer.
Having an easy day today, I seem to have 'done' my lower back. Very painful last night but easing a little this morning. Neck and right shoulder joining in so it must have happened yesterday doing the caravan 😞
Oh well everyone needs a day off, I need to be OK by Friday as we are going to Glasgow to the caravan show. Not looking for anything but meeting up with friends and having a day out.
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Our local Kia garage doesn't seem to be able to get display/demonstrator models for the showroom! Often only three or four cars on display! The salesmen seem to drive the demonstrators as their personal transport so there is usually no problem getting a test drive.
I think the last secondhand/pre-owned car I purchased was back in the mid eighties. I appreciate that car longevity and reliability has come on a long way since then, as have warranties, but I didn't have particularly good experiences until I started to buy new. My youngest son, when he worked for Jaguar Racing (Ford owned) he used to have a new Ford car every nine months. He didn't lose anything as he got such a big discount the dealers were always keen to have his cars back which just financed the next one. Now he contents himself with a nearly new car every now and then. Had the production of the Kia Venga gone of a couple more years I might have been tempted to a nearly new replacement for mine which is now approaching six and half years old but sadly this brilliant little car stopped production in something like 2019/2020 and there was no real replacement in terms of interior space and comfort.
David
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We know that when OH want to change his car will be difficult as he has had 4x4's for just under 20 years and he does not like many of the new ones and will be going hybrid as a diesel or petrol each has a lot of tax on them here to discourage you buying them heyho plus we have never had a new car in 50 plus years even the one company he worked for he had company cars of a sort usually 1 to 2 years old.
We had a lovely sunny but cold day yesterday but today dull and damp, OH had doctor's appointment today I went along as thought we might do a bit of shopping but he was a long time waiting then when he saw the doctor who he has not seen for about 4 years as she had 2 children and now back at work she introduced to another lady doctor to do the basic checks blood pressure breathing checks etc and then back to the other doctor for more checks and she said all ok and the other lady doctor under introduction training to the surgery and the next time he goes he will see a specialist nurse what we would call a diabetic nurse so will be better 2 visits to doctor and 2 visits to the nurse,and now told him he needs a Tetanus injection update. He asked the doctor about trying to get his eyes tested as a long waiting time here up to 6 months so she gave him a number of clinic about 25 miles from here and he should get in quicker as he needs a test and being diabetic.
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I agree about cars TG. OH never buys new as they lose too much in depreciation the minute you drive them off the forecourt. Also any production niggles have been sorted out. Ever since he left work (when he had company cars) he has always bought either demonstration cars or a car about 18 months to 2 or 3 years old with low mileage. I understand buying new cars, or possibly any car, is difficult at the moment. A lot brought on by a severe shortage of parts.
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We have never had a brand new car the newest we got was back in the 80s but even then it was 6 months old. Did buy two brand new vans when working both Transits and both great. Our Mondeo when we got it was six had it 3 years great car our V70 was 8 when we got it have just swapped it after 5 and a half years and added 70k to it again great car. Current Volvo we have had a week now is just over 6 years old but only has 30k on the clock
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