Diary summary week ending 10th December

[KGarrad]

We have 60 mph winds forecast today!
Not good for my balance issues - so I'm staying in today

Wednesday I fly to Liverpool, Walton Centre, to see a consutant.
Flights and taxi all paid for.
I just have to get to IoM airport. Mini-bus booked - £10 each way.

[Rena]

I'm trying to do several jobs at once, which at one time I was quite capable of - but not nowadays.

Why is it that offspring who have left the nest , then want to clutter up my surfaces with items they don't want in their own homes?? "I thought you may want this".

I thought I had sufficient Christmas cards for my needs, then discovered that one box contains some modern concoction  in that there are thick black lines everywhere in case I want to use them as postcards. - I shall be cutting those cards up to use as gift tags.   Where is a Woolworths, British Home Stores or Marks & Spencer when you want one??   New new owners of the corner shop haven't bothered to stock stamps or Christmas cards this year.  What is the world coming to!?

I have two vacuum cleaners, both have been designed by morons.  When the designer decided all the extensions could slide up and down one tubular unit, he hadn't reckoned on the fact that people of different heights would struggle keeping  the unit on the end of the extension flat on the floor, which is required for full suction.

Have just heard on the news that the UK government has abstained on a UN vote re Israel's actions because the Motion didn't include any wording concerning the 7th October.   Peculiarly the world's best defended country didn't have all its defence curtains up and running on that particular day = very suspicious.

[Rena]

I just feel,Lancastrian that I am that Yorkshire is very special and many from the South have no idea of its beauty.
Not spoiled so much as Lancashire was by The Industrial Revolution ,mills etc seemed smaller.
Ours are/were  huge , monsters  by any definition and your amazing countryside seems nearer to the towns as the urban areas  are smaller.
I gasp sometimes watching The Yorkshire Vet and Last of the Summer Wine, no, not  Compo’s trousers ,the countryside  the three overgrown schoolboys roamed in.
Best of luck with the card writing, at my age sadly the list is much shorter  year by year.
Cheerio.Viktoria.

I remember being on a road above Huddersfield, Yorkshire, and viewing an absolutely massive mill.  It's well known that hard water areas wove cotton cloths and soft water areas wove woollen cloths.  You're forgetting that Sheffield in the West Riding of Yorkshire was noted for making steel swords, cutlery and razors with blades, which needed forges and tons of coal in the manufacture of those wares.  Indeed the (made in) name "Sheffield" was used by Japan several decades ago, when they decided they needed some of the cutlery market.  If you have Rockingham Brameld pottery, that was made in the West Riding too. (Riding/Rydding = Old English vocabulary for "one third")

Holderness Plain in the East Riding of Yorkshire grows crops and land not suitable for crops is used as pastureland - cattle pull up grass which could loosen the the roots and sheep nibble grass down to the roots.  Your area has/had several shoe making companies,  Hull cured leather which were probably bought by Lancashire factories.  As far back as the 1200s King William 1, who rented land off Meaux Abbey in Yorkshire, used Hessle near Wyke (Hull) to ship the wool across the world.   When I was young the warehouses on Hull docks housed 7,000 cattle for export.  Due to it being the gateway to Europe, Hull had many heavy engineering works, such as Priestman Brothers whose excavators and cranes are all around the world, and a well known company of Reckitts was established in Hull where they made the dolly blue for white laundry, Robin Starch, wood polishers, and even make up.  both companies had their own doctors and pharmacies, which were free for the workers  before the NHS was born.

The main objective is that every company has to have an eye on the markets, especially foreign markets as we need to sell more of our goods because we need money as we can't keep going to the IMF cap in hand.

[BushInn1746]

All the best KG, Mark

[Rena]

We have 60 mph winds forecast today!
Not good for my balance issues - so I'm staying in today

We too have rain.  Apparently according to the BBC weatherman the wind here is 55 mph.

About a week ago a car smashed into the corner of the end terrace house which is opposite my home.

Hearing a great crashing noise just now, I went outside to see if another vehicle was in trouble.  No - it's just the wind having fun with the tarpaulin held in place by scaffolding that is protecting the house across the road.

[mare]

I can hear that tarpaulin Rena, having had to take down a shade sail a couple of weeks ago with the wind making it bang about rather loudly and probably half the street could hear it! Lovely new neighbourhood for us and we've been made to feel very welcome in the few weeks we've been here and it already feels like home, still many boxes of excess to go through in garage though but working on it!

Haven't given much thought to working on Christmas cards yet, have received a couple in the post to remind me but mostly e cards now and postage is a bit prohibitive here for many as well. Have been to a few end of year functions all very nice, some absentees though with 'the virus' still about. Stay safe and well all and Happy Christmas from the Hibiscus Coast 

[Gillg]

Thank goodness our choir's Christmas concerts are over now and I can relax (or start writing cards)!  The last one was last night and was held in the village church.  It featured all the choirs in the village - two mixed, one shanty singers, one children, plus a soprano soloist, plus several readings of poems and stories.  Throw in a glass of wine and some mince pies and nibbles and there was a happy atmosphere. 

The earlier concert was a social meeting of three choirs and their families and friends at a local pub.  Much jollity and a fair amount of alcohol was consumed.  Then there was a Christmas lunch in the last week at the same pub for our women's club. 

Next week I hope to be concentrating on putting up decorations and writing cards. Presents are all catered for, puddings and cake already made, just mince pies to bake. 

There has been so much rain round here that several of the roads are flooded and we have had to find alternative routes to our nearest town.  And yet our reservoirs are only 60% full - I can't understand it, unless it's because so many huge new housing developments around here have been built, leading to an increased demand for water supplies.

[louisa maud]

It has  been very wet here, miserable morning  but when I went out at 08.30 my car was positively  warm after  the last few weeks being minus 2 degrees but it is milder.

We had a Christmas tree service a couple of weeks ago with combined community Carols,  240 people, pity they don't come to church but were there for the sponsored trees to be decorated, they do look very nice, the sister church has a Carol service next week but at 6pm, not sure I want to drive in  the dark, alone.

Unfortunately for me we have a joint benefice service in my church on Christmas eve, 10am, I have drawn the short straw and am on the coffee rota, worst day ever for anyone.

Decs going  up today, my husband does most, goes back to the days when my daughter helped him, then my grandchidren,  I just fiddle about with bits and pieces .

Enjoy your day whatever you are doing.

LM

[LizzieL]

Yes, it comes to something when postage costs more than what is being posted!
       

Every Christmas card we send is like that.

We are posting 40 cards. the cards were bought from a charity. They came in packs of 10 at £3.99 a pack. So each card cost a fraction under 40 pence. Postage (UK 2nd class) 75 pence per card.