Thursday 10th December - Icy Blast!

[adesmith]

It has started to get colder again in Wales and finally the rain has stopped! The weather forecast says that we in the UK are going to experience a blast of cold weather over the next few weeks. I wonder if we might have a white Christmas after all! I think there is more chance of snow in the north and east but it is still a bit more festive with some cold and frosty weather.

Hope that everyones Christmas plans are coming together? I am looking forward to the end of school next Friday!

http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/weihnachten/xmas-smiley-039.gif

[Mary Young]

Bet you cant wait till next friday. love the cheerful chappies, laughed out loud, they are great
Mary

[Kath Mulligan]

It's been a lovely crisp winter's day here today, with quite a bit of sunshine which tempted me out to hand deliver my local Christmas cards.

As for a white Christmas, I don't mind if it is frosty white, but I would prefer that it doesn't snow since we have to drive to my sisters-in-law on Christmas night which is about 15 miles away.

We are starting our partying on Saturday in a way, since both my sisters-in-law have birthdays before Christmas, one next Monday, the other on 23rd, so we have invited them here for a birthday buffet lunch on Saturday.

On Monday evening Claire and her chorus are singing in a Christmas concert at Manchester Cathedral so Elizabeth and I are going to Manchester by train in the afternoon, having a look at the Christmas lights and the German markets in Albert Square, then going onto the concert. Really looking forward to that since there will be plenty of audience participation and singing of carols, plus mulled wine and mince pies at the interval.

Kath

[jane jackson]

Sounds really lovely Kath, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. We're going to see Newlyn Lights switched on tomorrow evening which will be followed by fireworks over the harbour. Today was a very pleasant day here too ~ so great to have it dry.

Loved your Christmas dancing baubles Adrian.

[gloria townsin]

Adrian I think you've hit the jack-pot with the cheeky chappies......brilliant!!

I have at last got into card writing and have posted the parcels......whoopee.......

Kath your social life way exceeds mine - I must be getting a real dull old whatsit!

By the way - still in Croxley. Not sure when we will venture West, but it will have to be soon, Christmas is getting too close for comfort.

[Brenda]

About -13C here this morning, but at least it's clear. Yesterday we cleared about a foot of snow from the driveway, walks and decks. And today we're glad to be living where we do (apart from the fact that we weren't able to move farther south this year) because the area just to the south of us, known as 'the snow belt,' is going to buried under nearly three feet of snow!! That's the hazard of living east of the Great Lakes - there's always this 'lake effect' snow, and it sweeps across the province and right across the one major highway between Toronto and the north of the province. Not at all nice to get caught in the white-outs and treacherous driving conditions. Peter was hoping to take a one-day trip to TO today for a motorcycle show, but couldn't find anyone to go with him, so he decided to skip it. I'm glad now.

Brenda

[adesmith]

Brenda I did think about what your weather was like as I started this thread and I was pretty sure that it was going to be colder and snowier with you! I expect that you think we Brits are a bit soft! On my car dashboard, if the temperature goes lower than 5c a snowflake appears and I think its really winter now!!! I guess when you get so much snow the novelty wears off. I was interested by your comment on the 'lake effect' snow because I saw a weather forecast for the US and they mentioned it on there (Lake Erie I think).

Your trip sounds wonderful Kath! You will feel very Christmassy after that.

I would love to see the Newlyn lights Jane. When do they switch the Mousehole ones on? They are quite famous arent they?

Well I am out for another meal with friends tonight and then on Sunday we wil be putting up the first of our trees. We will feel very Christmassy then! I am sure it wont be long now and you will be well into the Christmas spirit Gloria. Here is another festive smilie for you:

http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/weihnachten/xmas-smiley-045.gif


You are right Mary, I am desperate for it to be next Friday! The children are little too excited which isnt too good when all the staff are so tired. This time next week I will be finished for the hols.

[gloria townsin]

Your smilies are making me feel more Christmassy by the day Adrian. This last one's another cutie.

Eddie and Jeff put the tree up yesterday also the doorstep one is now twinkling and the lights are up round the porch.

[jane jackson]

Brenda your snow sounds very Christmassy as long as you don't have to travel in it. Hope you're both keeping snug and warm indoors.

My friend is going to Vienna shortly to spend Christmas with her son and his Austrain family. He says it's very cold over there now (although not as cold as Brenda is having) and she should get lots of snow. She's looking forward to the Christmas Markets which she hasn't seen before as previously she's been working so only over there for a brief visit

The Newlyn Lights are great and the firework display fantastic. Lovely warm dry evening for a change although a bit breezy walking home along the seafront ~ had to hold on to my hat!

Mousehole Lights go on tomorrow Adrian with their Carolaire with the Silver Band and Male Voice Choir. We're going on tuesday when we have a friend visiting, we've booked in for a meal at The Ship by the harbour.

Glad you're feeling more Christmassy Gloria, it's lovely with all the lit up trees in the windows as you pass by.

Love all your smilies Adrian ~ they're beautiful.

[Brenda]

We really were spared yesterday and had a lovely clear sunny day. It was nippy, but we have clothes to compensate for that. But the snow belt area to the south of us really got whomped - up to a full metre of snow fell in a 24-hour period. You just can't keep up with that kind of snow removal. It's back-breaking and completely depressing. A section of the main highway between Toronto and the north is still shut down. There are apparently more snow squalls expected in the same area today. Poor folks. Looks like we're in for another clear day. Early morning temperature is about -16C, so the woodstove is blazing and I think I'll spend the day sewing and baking more Christmas goodies.

Brenda

[jane jackson]

Sounds as though you have life sussed with your cosy and warm pursuits. Expect you have to be well organised with supplies in case you get really snowed in.

[Barbara]

Nice to know you're all keeping warm. Things are getting more Christmassy by the day.
We're forecast to have a hot one tomorrow - mid 30s, I think.
Because it has been so hot, I have been letting the chickens free range around the garden. They have been in seventh heaven and have only caused slight damage (so far) to my plants.
I had to admit defeat and have moved the Christmas tree into the spare room...I just couldn't look at its poor bedraggled appearance any longer...I think I had more tinsel scattered on the floor underneath it than I did on the tree. I'm sure Bee Bee will be a little more mature next year so hopefully we'll enjoy the tree back in the main room then.
Adrian, how do you make those Christmas Smiles? - they're great.
:happy:

[adesmith]

Cheating Barbara I am afraid! I just do a little search for smilies on Google and then copy and paste. They are rather fun arent they.

Brenda I just cannot imagine 1 metre of snow falling like that! If you could see the fuss over a couple of centimetres here in the UK! Hope that you keep safe and warm. Does it stay on the ground now (I am guessing so with the temperatures that you describe!) or will you see a thaw? When it snows here it is usually gone completely fater a few days. My father in law always tells me about the winter of 1947 and there was an awful lot of snow then.

Glad that you enjoyed the Newlyn lights Jane. One year I would love to come down and see the Mousehole lights. Do you go to Mousehole on Tom Bawcocks Eve?

Glad you are feeling more Christmassy Gloria!

http://www.mymerrychristmas.com/forum/images/smilies/48.gif

That one will be me tomorrow afternoon!!!

[jane jackson]

No Adrian we haven't been on that evening. I think you would have to book up well in advance to dine out that evening especially at The Ship. I'm not actually very keen on eating fish although Bryan is. I can't stand getting a bone so would be very iffy about the starry gazey pie ~ I prefer good ole fish 'n chips.

Do love all you smilies.

[gloria townsin]

In the winter of '47 my Mum fell and broke her leg. She'd left me at home with my grandmother and popped to the shops (isn't it odd how we 'pop' to the shops, do they do that in other countries? I've often wondered...). The next thing was a knock on the door and a neighbour standing on the doorstep with my Mum in his arms....she was taken to hospital and was kept in plaster for months, so much so that when they took the plaster off the doctor told her to walk and actually thought her leg would collapse. He said he didn't know if she would have the use of it again and just took a chance when he told her to walk down the ward. Remembering this was just after the war, the probability was that it took so long to heal because of poor war time diet, lack of vitamins etc. plust two pregnancies during this time. My biggest memory of the time, apart from seeing her at the door just after it happened, was seeing her going up and down stairs sitting on each stair, which I thought was a game. She always 'felt' the break after that, especially when the weather was cold. At a time when money was hard to find they had to pay for taxis every time they had to go to the hospital, they never had their own car. No help for people then, the country was on it's knees. But it was a time when people got on and did their best with what they had and didn't look for handouts. In the main I think they were happy to have survived a second World War, many, my parents included, had been through two by then.
Keep finding the smilies Adrian they are ace!!

[nashie]

Although I was around in '47 Gloria i can't really remember the bitter winter of that year, but I do of course remember the winter of early '63 when the snow fell, I think on Boxing Day and then stayed on the ground almost up to Easter, as every time it looked like it was starting to thaw, the snow returned. It's been pretty cold here recently with clear skies, which means there's been a couple of beautiful sunsets. We get such a good view of it from here that I love to track its progress as it moves along the horizon - the past couple of days marked it's earliest setting of the year, so, although we probably won't notice it much, the evenings now will actually start to get lighter.
I don't suppose there's much chance of a white Christmas for us though -although we did get some proper snow in the early part of this year for the first time since we've lived here - it was great to have a few days of real winter weather, but the frost did kill all my echiums.

[Kath Mulligan]

My Mum and Dad talked many times about the winter of '47 but it was before my time. I too have vivid memories of the 1963 winter, John. We never saw the pavements up here for almost 4 months, the snowploughs piled the snow up at the sides of the road every day and it got so high that council workmen had to cut channels through it so that folk could actually cross the road! 1982 was another bad winter up here too - bit of a nightmare for me with two young children and living on a very steep hill. I didn't drive then so was struggling on foot with youngsters, shopping and icy pavements constantly. Hope this year is not going to be too bad. We have some sleet/snow showers forecast here for Thursday/Friday, then again early next week but they are coming in from the east so hopefully the Pennines will protect us from the worst of it.

Kath

[jane jackson]

My parents too spoke of the winter of 1947. They were in the process of buying their first home and Mum had to walk to the house every day to keep the solid fuel boiler going before they moved in and I was on the way by then, born in April so she had a bit of a struggle.

1963 I was still at school and could walk there so don't remember any problems and didn't have my horses at that stage.

I hadn't remebered which year in the 80s but must have been '82 if that's when you're talking about Kath. I was driving to work in the Bank in Chorleywood, Herts but by Land Rover so I was ok to keep going on the country lanes until some "silly" so and so tried to do it in a car and blocked the lane. My friend's husband worked for BT and kept the official van in the Exchange at Chorleywood so we drove together in my Land Rover to save using his car and at least I had someone with me with a shovel in case we did have a problem so I actually rather enjoyed the drives especially when the snow was piled and frozen high into the hedges with just room for one vehicle to get through.

When I couldn't ride due to the deep snow and ice we used to walk the dogs along the bridlepaths that were so deep in frozen snow that we were level with the top of the hedges ~ fun for a brief period until it all thawed!

On Exmoor we had a very heavy fall of snow in 2000 around April just as we had taken delivery of our new car. Our postman friend suggested we drove to a certain point on the moor as it looked so wonderful with all the snow and icicles but we declined ................if only I still had had my Land Rover!

[gloria townsin]

The bad 80's winter we had horses and my car couln't make it round the lanes so a few of us got together and crammed into someone's land rover to do the horses, then looked out for each other's equines if someone didn't make it at all.

The 63' winter I also remember - probably because Eddie couldn't get from Harrow to Ricky for a few days, we were married in '64.

I am happy not to have snow, sleet, icy roads, fog....in fact any of the usual weather this country experiences - maybe I should live in Spain!!

[Brenda]

Brenda I just cannot imagine 1 metre of snow falling like that! If you could see the fuss over a couple of centimetres here in the UK! Hope that you keep safe and warm. Does it stay on the ground now (I am guessing so with the temperatures that you describe!) or will you see a thaw?

And in fact, more than a metre fell on one poor town south of us - a little place called Minden received 121 cm of snow in a three-day period! Poor, poor them. That's the snow belt for you.

I know about the fuss over a couple of centimetres because parts of Canada have very similar weather to the UK - Vancouver and Victoria, for example, which are just paralyzed after even a moderate snowfall. They don't have much in the way of snow removal equipment; one year, when Victoria was unexpectedly battered by a storm, people were trying to clear their walks and driveways with yogurt containers and children's beach shovels! Even Toronto, which gets some of the same winter weather that we do here in the north, just goes crazy sometimes during a snowstorm. They're not prepared for large amounts of snow and can't keep up with the removal. Several years ago, the mayor (who was a bit of a colourful character and I suspect was pulling a bit of a publicity stunt) called in the military to clear away the snow after a particularly big storm moved through the area.

We almost always get a January thaw here, Adrian, when we'll have about three or four days of near- or plus-zeroC temperatures and the snow melts like crazy. It's great for clearing the snow load off the roofs, bad if your drainage isn't in good shape. It plays havoc with backyard skating rinks, turns our dirt road into a rutted mess, and exposes all the unpleasant things on the ground that should have been cleaned up before the snow fell in the first place! Unless we have a very unusual situation, we'll have snow on the ground now until early April. Have a look at the photo in my album for the mid-winter view from my back deck.

Brenda

[adesmith]

I am really pleased that this is the turning point of the year and that the long nights will begin to shorten from here on in!

I am afraid that I dont remember the winter of 1963 either (almost 10 years before my time) but I do remember 1982. My parents had divorced by then and I think I was due to go and stay with my Mum in Twyning (just outside Tewkesbury). When the snow started she must have arranged to collect us from school early (we lived in Cheltenham) so that we could still get out there. The lanes to the village were blocked after we arrived and I think we were cut off for a few days. Worse than that the electricity went off which was a bit miserable when the house didnt have gas. Those houses that had the gas tank thingies helped people in the village out with hot soup etc. Thankfully Mum had a real fire so we didnt get cold.

121cm! That is incredible! To be fair I think because we dont have much snow, we really dont have the equipment to deal with it, we dont stock up and quite simply we dont have practice in dealing with it! I loved your picture Brenda. The year before last we had a freak snowstorm in South East Wales that didnt affect many other places in the country but it brought the capital to a stand still! The snow started falling midmorning and it was much heavier than normal. Eventually a message acme around to all staff that if they were worried about getting home they should let someone know (lots of them live in the valleys). I said that I didnt mind because I am mainly on the motorway back to Newport. In the end they made me go and I was glad that they did because it was one of the hardest car journeys that I have ever made. The snow was coming down so fast that the motorway was white and cars were sliding off the road. Trying to stay in the lanes was impossible. Cardiff became gridlocked and after I got home it said on the news that the motorway was blocked and people that left school after me were stuck for hours. It was however as I said all down to inexperience.

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[Mary Young]

Just realised Adrian your school breaks up earlier then down here in kent. Our grandchildren dont break up till this coming friday 18th. Hope that doesnt mean you start back earlier. Just noticed from your comments on the snow years ago and giving your age away that you must be about the same age as my sons. They were born in 1972 and 1974. Im suddenly feeling old again after becoming an oap last month

[adesmith]

Yes I was born in 1972, feel like I am getting on a bit now. If the saying 'you are as old as you feel' is true I think I am about 80 at the moment! (might feel a bit younger after a couple weeks off work!) Unfortunately it is Friday 18th that I finish - 4 more days to go! We do get to finish an hour or so early but before that I have to endure the Staff Revue in which the teachers perform for the pupils. This year my act is a bit more ambitious with Adam Ant and 'Prince Charming'. Guess who is Adam Ant! I am hopeless at dancing and timing etc so its going to be dreadful! Oh well they will have forgotten it by January. I am much more comfortable with the Staff Choir at the Carol Concert on Wednesday so I am looking forward to that more.

Well I just decided to check the weather forecast and on Metcheck for Newport it says light snow for the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th December! I am sure that it is far too early to predict it but maybe Rupert will get his wish come true.

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[Mary Young]

All I can say is good luck with the performance. Im sure you will be brilliant but rather you then me. I really wouldnt have the nerve to do it.
The forcast is for snow showers down here for end of week so we will see if it arrives

Mary

[gloria townsin]

My sons are 43, 40 and 35 - you just wait 'til Rupert is approaching those birthdays - you're just a youngster Adrian, make the most of it.....

[Kath Mulligan]

[QUOTE=adesmith;49342]I am really pleased that this is the turning point of the year and that the long nights will begin to shorten from here on in!

The shortest day is next Monday 21st December, isn't it? Sorry to make you wait for the turning point just a bit longer, Adrian!

We have some sleet showers forecast for overnight tonight, more tomorrow and some heavier snow on Friday, which I am hoping they have got wrong because Claire and some of her friends are supposed to be singing at a dinner in Hillsborough, Sheffield on Friday evening and if it has been snowing hard, there is no way they will be able to drive over the Pennines.

We had a wonderful time in Manchester yesterday at the Christmas markets - they were so colourful and had some beautiful candles and wooden tree ornaments. Could have spent a fortune but restrained myself and just bought some very pretty snowflake-shaped floating candles, and a silver-coloured metal carousel-type decoration which rotates when you put a t-light inside it. They looked beautiful on the stall, haven't tried it out at home yet.

Sampled some hot blueberry Gluhwein too which was lovely and very welcome on a chilly damp evening.

Fantastic concert in the cathedral too, packed to the doors, so should have raised lots of money for Macmillan.

Kath

[Kath Mulligan]

Yes I was born in 1972, feel like I am getting on a bit now.

Well I just decided to check the weather forecast and on Metcheck for Newport it says light snow for the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th December! I am sure that it is far too early to predict it but maybe Rupert will get his wish come true.

http://planetsmilies.net/xmas-smiley-4622.gif

You were born in the year I got married, Adrian, so if you think you are getting on a bit, how do you think that makes me feel!!!

Metcheck is also forecasting snow all over Christmas for this area too - all I can say is, hope they are wrong!

Kath

[nashie]

I'm a bit of a romantic about Christmas and after all the gales and rain we've had I'd be quite glad to see a bit of snow over Christmas. We'd not long moved to our previous house when the snow of winter 82 arrived. Our village in the middle of Kent was virtually cut off, with no power for several days and with huge snow drifts, but our house was a very old Tudor farmhouse with a huge inglenook fireplace, so we all snuggled down and even had to cook around the open log fire. I've forgotten now how inconvenient it must have been with two small children and just remember it as quite a romantic time. I had to knock the icicles down off the roof as one had grown to over 6ft long and a foot thick and was rather dangerous. The hop gardens and orchards around our house looked amazing in the snow. Compared to that the snow here in Lamorna last winter was just a light covering.
You're right to say Dec 21st is the shortest day Kath, but strangely the evenings did start to get lighter from earlier this week. Sadly this is more than compensated for by the mornings carrying on getting darker until early in Jan. It's just because 'clock' time is out of kilter with the 'real' time.

[Linda]

I remember the winter of 63 as we were living in York at the time...but the one of 82 I dont recall....funny that, I just know that I love snow and everywhere I move to in the hope of getting snow - moves in the opposite direction!! Maybe I should just do a house swap with Brenda?.....:flirt:

[Janet Swan]

My memories of Winter '63 are that I was living in London at the time (which always seems warmer than elsewhere), and went home to parents for a weekend. Next morning, I found my mascara had frozen solid in my chilly bedroom there! They now have storage heaters in all rooms, but unheated bedrooms were quite common in those days, weren't they?

Janet

[Linda]

Gosh, do you remember that Janet...we used to have a gas fire in the'back room' and no heating anywhere else in theh house...doors were kept shut in those days...and going to the loo was a daunting experience!

just thinking about 'back room'...did anyone else have a front room and back room, where you lived in the 'back room' and the front room was kept clean and tidy for visitors. The only other time you used the front room was perhaps at Christmas.
Maybe it was a northern thing as my Mum came from York. But it always made Christmas feel even more special as we changed rooms!


ps after living down south for many years I now refer to a 'front room' as the 'lounge' and the back room as the living room.....I cant recommend living in different places through your life it gets very confusing about what is what!! My first recollection of front and back rooms and keeping it separate was when we lived in Cardiff.

pps its been snowing here most of the day and roads have been impassable...having said how good our gritters were they hadnt actually been out over the weekend and didnt get out till lunchtime today...think it may be part of the council cut backs...

[Kath Mulligan]

We still tend to refer to our "front" room and call the back room the living room. My Mum's front room is still kept for visitors and special occasions - mine isn't, it's where I am now on my computer and gets used all the time.

I can vividly remember my parents' house being icy cold in the winter, with a coal fire in the living room and nothing in any other room. Dad used to light a portable paraffin heater in the bathroom if you wanted a bath, and the horrible smell from it ensured you didn't linger long in there! Those were the days of frost patterns on the insides of windows too, and my school blouse and undies went under my eiderdown at night so that they were warm for me to put on in the morning - can anyone else remember the icy cold feel of a poplin blouse on your bare back and arms - torture!! Those were also the days of frozen water pipes on a regular basis.

Thinking about all that, we are real softies nowadays aren't we, cushioned in our cosy, centrally heated, double-glazed houses.

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Without fail the bathroom taps iced up in the winter, the bedrooms were freezing and once up the stairs you couldn't wait to leap into bed with the hot water bottles. I can remember waking up with my feet icy cold and rushing downstairs to get dressed in front of the gas oven which my Mum had lit for us to do just that.

Our completely wrongly named 'Front Room' (it went from front to back of the house) was used so rarely it always felt as though I was going to someone else's house when we actually used it. The piano stood in there, and a rather utilitarian three piece suite, the sideboard and a little 'cocktail' table on wheels that my Mum had bought from somewhere or t'other.......the fact we didn't indulge in cocktails, couldn't afford them for a start, seemed not to matter to her enjoyment of it standing there, doing nothing much! It was a large room and on the rare occasions a fire was lit in the grate it took hours to take the chill off, and was never really comfortable. The room we lived in was always cosy, unless the chimney sweep had to call - why did he always come in cold weather? then the fire had to wait until his job was done, so back to the gas oven for warmth.

Washing came in from the line frozen solid and it always amused us to see the clothes were able to stand up on their own. It's true we didn't think anything of it......it was part of the ritual of Winter....frozen everything. The idea of central heating never occured to me, I doubt I even knew it was something you could have in a house. Ours was a council house anyway and the best they did for you was to rent you a gas refrigerator which you paid for along with the weekly rent. I couldn't believe my Mum when I asked her when the house would be paid for and be ours and she said it never would........why do you have to pay each week then? She laughed and said we had to pay to live there. That was the point I thought, hmmm....not going to do that I will buy my own house and never pay rent.........I must have been nine!! So with that in mind....I refused to look at renting when Eddie and I were planning to get married and searched the papers every week for something we could afford. We looked at some real horrors and took on loads of work when we did find a house we could get a mortgage on, but my Mum couldn't understand me at the time, thought it was all too much for a 20 year old. Years later they managed to buy their own home - but my growing up was done in the council house that I loved, wonderful neighbours it will always be home to me, every now and then I go and have a look at it and think of all the times I came down the path to go to infant, junior and secondary school, then work and to the church to be married.

Going back to the weather, Jeff and Nina have just arrived back from London, the train stopped on the journey and they had to wait on board - with the doors open brrr - and change trains but apparently there are abandoned buses on a couple of hills locally. Scots Hill Jane....do you remember it? The one that goes from Ricky to Croxley.......always was a problem.

[gloria townsin]

Sorry about the life story folks........all this from winter weather...........

[jane jackson]

We certainly didn't have central heating upstairs in '63 and no double glazing either so the inside of my bedroom window used to have ice on it and on top of the glass of water I kept on the window ledge each night.

We have no snow here now and what we had was very light but it did go down to minus 3 last night so do hope we're not going to lose some plants if it continues too long. Mind you, that's not very important in the scheme of things having just seen the News on TV with the roads leading to Luton Airport. It's not funny for all these folk trying to get away on planned holidays or for anyone travelling a distance.

Had an email from my godson in Austria last night about 10.30pm and it was minus 16 there!!!!!!! My friend, his mother, is over there for Christmas so she'll enjoy the snow. She was lucky to fly from Heathrow last thursday so she was ok.

[Kath Mulligan]

Oh yes, I too remember the frozen clothes coming in from the washing line. Caused my brother and me much hilarity to see our pyjama trousers standing to attention all on their own! My parents rented their house (privately, the landlord lived next door and was a real Scrooge) but were eventually able to buy it.

We used to get undressed and into PJs downstairs in front of the fire when it was really cold, and I always remember having a very early "senior" moment when I merrily took off my socks and flung them into the fire!! What possessed me I shall never know, didn't even realise what I had done until Mum yelled "Kathleen, what are you doing!!!" It didn't help matters either when I started giggling about it - more through nerves than amusement I suspect (although the memory still makes me laugh now).

Kath

[Barbara]

The only experience I have with living in a traditional English style building is the guest house that my mother had in Albany. It was the first "grand" house to be built in the town, although it's probably reasonably ordinary in the scheme of things.
It gets quite cold in Albany, being on the Southern Ocean. Every few years its snows in the ranges just outside town - the only place that gets snow in Western Australia.
I remember that we used to have the rooms shut off in winter as well. After the meal was cooked at night the kitchen would cool down and the family would retire to the lounge room. The fire would be going and it would be lovely and warm. Then as the evening wore on we'd all sit tight until one of us looked as though they were going to venture out into the frigid house to get something. The minute that person attempted to leave the room, they would be inundated with requests for something from the kitchen - it usually took quite a while to fill all the orders before you could get back into the warmth of the lounge.
Mum didn't have a wood burning stove at the time, instead she had rather a whiz-bang silver contraption. It would have been much better though to have the older stove as the kitchen area would have remained warm all night.
There were fireplaces in nearly every room in that house, but most of them were never used. I remember it also had very thick stone walls - which used to keep it cool in summer, although we probably only got a few days a year that were really hot down there.
In 1978 a cyclone came down south. We have cyclones every year in Western Australia but they usually only affect the far north of the state where the waters are warmer. Any way, that year it came down so far south and cut a swathe through the south west corner. I remember being inside our big old house and watching the wind and rain rage outside. We were so well protected in that building. The next morning we drove around the town and surveyed the damage - and there was a lot of it. The only thing damaged at our house was that all the smaller branches of our oak tree had been blown off and scattered over the whole back garden.
Frozen washing sounds like a novel experience.
:blink:

[Linda]

Kath, I roared with laughter at you throwing your socks in the fire!! hilarious!

Gosh I remember now the ice patterns on the window and coming downstairs to get dressed...and the paraffin heater...the frozen pipes...we too had a piano in the 'front room'...hahaha!!...its funny I only started this because we are trying not to use our oil heating and relying on the wood stove and Rayburn as a consequence the bathroom is freezing and it reminded me of those years!.....and bedrooms with flannelette sheets aargh! lovely...and eiderdowns!...although duvets are cosier...why did we never use them all those years ago when Europeans were....

its been snowing steadily here for the last two hours and the sky looks like it has more to come...

I have taken today off...and am coughing well...eyes heavy and no energy.....nevertheless its another day closer to getting better....and Xmas Day!! actually I like Xmas Eve better... :) ...more about anticipation.... :)

One day I would love to be at Oliver Land for Xmas Eve and for it to be snowing...how lovely would that be.....what a dreamlike state I would be in...

[Kath Mulligan]

Glad I'm not the only one who loves Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day itself, Linda. As you say I think it is all about the anticipation ..... often more enjoyable than the reality! I used to love it when the girls were small. My parents would come to us for a meal on Christmas Eve, then once the girls were in bed and asleep, they would join in the sorting of the presents into stockings and sacks.

Adrian, make the most of these days with Rupert, it is so magical when you experience the excitement through their young eyes. It is not the same once they lose that belief in Santa. Still enjoyable, but not so magical.

Linda, get better soon, hope you're feeling ok by Christmas. A big hug and Ambrose Rock wish coming your way from me. :grouphug::hug::angel::kiss:

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Oh I love Christmas Eve.........it meant visiting my grandparents on our way home from last minute shopping, even though we would see them the next day I just loved it. Perhaps the fact that I had lived in their house for the first five years of my life had something to do with it. They had some funny Chinese made decorations that you steamed to make them fluff up and they kept a kind of slightly oriental smell about them although they were years old.
Then we would go home, my Dad would arrive home from work and Christmas Evening had begun!! My Mum and Dad sang Jingle Bells to us as we went to bed - it was wonderful!! We did the same with our boys.
Kath is so right.....treasure each moment with Rupert you will never regret taking every little scrap of happenings to your memory bank. I loved every minute with our boys so have no regrets about anything........just wish we heard from our eldest but that's all another story. We had him while he was young and that has to be enough.
Linda I'm pleased you are on the mend......you have to be ready for Santa you know, he visits big girls as well as little..........

[adesmith]

Yes there is a special air of excitement in our house this year! We will treasure every moment with Rupert and will take plenty of pictures.

Christmas Eve has become a special time in our home as we have increasingly stayed at home for Christmas. Rachel always used to like to watch Carols from Kings on the tv but I have persuaded her that the live radio version at 3pm is better. That is the time when we bring the holly, misletoe and ivy into the house for the final flourish of decoration (I am not superstitious but you are not supposed to bring holly in until then). We also make Lambswool which is a very old (Medieval) recipe for spiced cider. You roast apples in the oven until they burst and then you scoop the fluffy flesh out onto the cider, that is the lambswool. Its delicious and we normally roast some chestnuts to go with it.

Hope that you feel better soon Linda. I normally have an end of term cold ready for Christmas but it came early this year and I am getting over it now.

[nashie]

Great reading all your posts about freezing bedrooms and washing that stood up of its own accord - I can remember all those things and that they didn't seem that bad at the time as we didn't know any better. Besides we heard from our parents how lucky we were compared to their childhoods - 8 or 9 brothers and sisters sharing tin baths and outside loos with an icy blast under the door and just old newspaper torn up. It was taken for granted that you only heated the room you were in. Like Linda and Jeff, we've been cutting down on using our oil fired heating and reverting to just the woodstove, which has reminded me a bit of those days. We had a 'front room' which was only used for special occasions and consequently acquired an air of mystery. And I expect your Dads then used to create a draught to light the coal fire by holding newspaper over the opening. 'Front room' sounds much better to me than 'lounge' and Mim, who's upbringing means she knows a thing or two about which knife to eat your peas with, insists it's either a parlour or sitting room - she claims that only airports have lounges. Nowadays of course houses don't have anything as simple as just longes or even rooms - they have to have 'areas'. Dining areas, bedroom areas, kitchen areas, lounge areas and even garden areas. Grrrr.
Maybe though our grandchildren will one day be regaling their children with stories of how, in the 'old days' they survived with only one computer each, TVs weren't automatically linked to the internet and you had to wear a silly pair of glasses to watch films on it in 3D.
I'll stop there as I think I'm slipping into grumpy old man mode.
Merry Christmas everyone.

[Linda]

gosh the newspaper John!! Yes I remember that! and we used to watch totally mesmerised by what dad was doing and how he could make the fire come alight...BUT he always warned us that we shoudl NEVER let the newspaper catch light.....till one day ....what did he do....yes! it caught light and went flying up the chimney and you've guessed it our chimney caught alight...wow! that was exciting thought the house was going to burn down and the fire brigade came and lots of firemen...ooh!! I was about 7 and running about in my Mum's high heels...!

:biggrin::biggrin::fie::fie::D:D

[Kath Mulligan]

My Mum still has an open coal fire, and yes, she does still use a sheet of newspaper held across the opening to "draw" the fire into life. We quite often used to set the chimney alight by not taking the paper away quickly enough, but never needed the fire brigade. Mum used to just throw large handsful of cooking salt onto the fire, and it must have been something to do with the chemicals released, but it always used to put the fire out. It was quite exciting as kids though to stand outside and watch the flames and bits of charred paper coming out of the chimney.

Remember the outside loo and cut up newspaper too, John, in fact, the house I now live in used to belong to my grandparents and as a child I hated using that loo 'cos it always seemed to have big hairy spiders lurking!! By the time we bought the house, it had an inside bathroom, but I have been bathed in a tin tub in what is now our living room!

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Bryher now has a rather large open area - open to the sky and garden.........until they build the walls and put the lid on it!! Christmas won't be warm and cosy there at present.

[Kath Mulligan]

Bryher now has a rather large open area - open to the sky and garden.........until they build the walls and put the lid on it!! Christmas won't be warm and cosy there at present.

:D:D:D Good job Bryher isn't in our neck of the woods, you wouldn't want it open to the sky and garden tonight I can tell you - minus 7 at the moment, so goodness what it will get down to during the night.

Kath

[adesmith]

Just think what it will be like next Christmas Gloria!

I am afraid I dont remember outside loos or real fires but I just about remember life without central heating and double glazing. Our first married Christmas we were living in our rented flat (which we went on to buy) and we returned from visiting family for New Year to find that the boiler had broken. Of course because it was New Years Eve the rental company said that there was nothing that they could do so we had to manage in sub-zero temperatures. We were okay because we had a gas fire and an electric shower but we were shocked to find the ice on the inside of the windows! (we didnt have double glazing at that point) We are a bit soft these days and have got used to our luxuries!

All this talk of front rooms etc reminded me that in Wales they had a 'best side'. Apparently in the terraced coal miners and iron workers two up and two down cottages they would put all of their best furniture, pictures and crockery etc on the far side of the downstairs room. Anybody looking through the front window would see these but not notice the more functional and mundane furniture under the window. You can see this in the Rhyd-y-Car (sp?) Cottages at the Museum of Welsh Life in Cardiff.

[gloria townsin]

Now that's clever thinking Adrian.....a 'best side.'

[Barbara]

That's interesting, Adrian, that you can't remember the scintillating experience of an outside loo. We moved around a lot in my childhood seeing as my father kept "forgetting" to pay the rent, and every now and then ended up living in houses with outside loos.
My mother likes to tell us about her childhood in the thirties,and one of her favourite bits is the fact that because her dad was a plumber they were the only house in their street that had an inside loo - and you could flush it as well!

[jane jackson]

My grandmother had a shop in Berkhamsted and lived upstairs. She had a working loo up there in the bathroom but no running water for washing and had to bring it up from downstairs. In the kitchen she only had cold water. That was like that until she died in 1966. It was and is a rented propery.

There were also the remains of the original gas lamps that were fixed to the wall in the bathroom but by the time I was around she had electric light. There was a panel above the inside of the kitchen door which showed from which room a bell was being rung ~ or would have done if it had been working! I would have loved it to have worked when I was a child and spent my saturdays there while Mum helped out in the shop ~ I'd have been pressing all the bells in all the rooms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Barbara]

In the early eighties I came across a book in a secondhand bookshop that had been printed in the late seventies that was all about fitting bathroom modules to British houses and flats. Apparently there were still many properties that had substandard bathroom and toilet facilities even as late in the century as that - I remember being quite surprised by it.
It is interesting to find relics of times gone by when visiting old homes. In my mum's guesthouse there was a dumb waiter - although by then it had been all blocked off and was being used as a bread box. And then there was the bricked up doorway that lead to what would have been the attic, but it had apparently been a private chapel. It's understandable as this was one of the first settlers houses in Western Australia - interesting indeed.

[gloria townsin]

History and the 'feel' of old and ancient places is something I can never resist. Interesting to have a chapel in the attic, I wonder for what reason that was, or maybe it was just the only place around that could be used as such.

[Barbara]

Gloria, the original house on the property was a small squat bungalow. It was the first brick building erected in Western Australia. The big house that was built in front of it was made of stone. It was called Cheynes House - I think Cheyne was someone of influence when Albany was first settled - I'll have to look it up. There was probably no church in the town when he and his family first arrived so it was probably an extravagance in one way and a necessity in another, to build a private chapel.

[nashie]

Re outside loos and private chapels - if any of you are able to visit us when you're next down to Lamorna you can see that in a way i've got both - I've converted the old outside loo to a small chapel!

[Barbara]

That sounds novel, John.
I'm picturing either a very large loo or a very small chapel. If I ever get over there I'd be intrigued to see your conversion.

[gloria townsin]

Now that's a bit of Old Well Cottage I haven't seen....Barbara you would love John and Mim's cottage, it's all you would imagine a Cornish cottage to be and more!