More Snow in Britain?

[Sybille Weber]

I had an email from our friend in Folkestone yesterday saying they were knee-deep in snow with streets impassable and buses not running. No taxis either. Our friend's daughter walked for miles home from work.
Have other parts of Britain also been hit by snow yet again? I hope everyone is ok.
We are having just about an inch here at present, but there is still far more in most other parts of Germany.
Still permanent frost all over Germany though, but according to the forecast temperatures might rise a little above zero in the course of next week.

[Linda]

none here...we have had a truly Spring like day with sunshine and a little warmth. They were forecasting snow for the North over the weekend. Just a thought carrying on from our birds feeding posts...I wanted to add we feed ours peanuts but in a wire netted holder sot eh birds have to peck little bits off, they do not get access to whole peanuts. Following the discussion we are going to get a crusher as well now so we can feed more birds who are ground/flat feeders... we cannot count the numbers of birds we have now...so many. I can still recall teh seven sparrows that were here when we came and thats all there was...it was so quiet. Now its chatter all day.

[Sybille Weber]

Great to hear you have had such a nice spring like day and that so many birds are now coming to visit you. We have huge numbers coming to our balcony, but there is also quite a number of shy birds that hover around in the garden not daring to come up here, among them one redwing that we never see in normal weather conditions. We used to throw a bit of bird feed into the garden for the less daring birds, but our neighbours downstairs who the garden belongs to have told us to stop it. They actually have a feeder in their garden but never fill it. Just can't understand them. Great you have enough land and the opportunity to feed the birds as you please.
As to the weather, I shouldn't have said we are having just an inch of snow as we have had heavy permanent snowfall since then, and about two more inches have fallen.

[gloria townsin]

Hertfordshire, or at least our bit of it, has been pretty nice. Wintery sun, still chilly, but no snow. Kent was bad yesterday but they often get a lot of snow around now and often in March as well, I've known people from Kent not to be able to get to Crufts in Birmingham which is held at the beginning of the second week of March.

[jane jackson]

Nothing down here but then that's not really surprising ~ it was actually having the snow earlier in the winter that was unusual for us. We have had lots of nights where the temperatures have been below freezing though. Friends on Exmoor have had very hard frosts making it difficult to get horses from stables to fields. A friend in Suffolk still had lying snow yesterday and has had very hard frosts too. Winter hasn't finished with us yet but the forecast is for it to be warmer next week but probably wetter too.

[Kath Mulligan]

It's been quite nice and sunny up here for the past few days, although cold, but I see the Beeb are forecasting some snow showers for us overnight tonight and tomorrow and Tuesday too. They say light snow showers, but the last time they said that we got about 4 inches so we shall wait and see!! Really hope that it turns out to be nothing more than flurries. Not heard from my friend in Sidcup, Kent so don't know how she is faring.

Kath

[GillyKat]

So far we don't have any snow in Northumberland but if last night's CountryFile weather forecast is anything to go by then there should be a few showers over the next three/four days.

I've just started a fortnight's holiday and looking forward to getting out for a few walks and some birdwatching so perhaps it's time to get my wellies on standby! LOL

[Kath Mulligan]

Hello GillyKat, lovely to have you join us on the forum. Whereabouts in Northumberland do you live? I have spent a couple of holidays at Low Newton by the Sea and really love the area; the huge unspoilt beaches, the wildlife, the quiet roads once you are away from the A1 etc.

I watched the Countryfile forecast too. For a change the Peak District looks as though it may escape the wintry weather relatively unscathed (just damp and cloudy this morning).

Enjoy your 2 week break, hope the weather allows you to get out and about ok.

Kath

[jane jackson]

It's always lovely to have a whole fortnights holiday away from work. I'm retired now but remember well how the thought of 2 whole weeks to do exactly what I chose was such a great feeling. I'm sure you'll enjoy it whatever the weather. Have fun!

[gloria townsin]

Oh how it's tried it's best to snow here today........just little flakes but if only it could chuck it down it would!! well that's how it looks. Home from shopping and the windows are slightly streaked with we stuff........c'mon.......it's the middle of February - and we've had ENOUGH!!

By the way - Hello GillyKat........nice to meet you here.

[Kath Mulligan]

Mum and I have decided to do our weekly shop tomorrow rather than later in the week since we could be having a bit of the white stuff on Wednesday/Thursday. I keep comforting myself with the thought that hopefully the daffodils will still be in full bloom at Oliver Land next month for the Memorial Walk. Looking at the ones in my garden, they may be in flower towards the end of April if I'm lucky!! I have seen a few small signs of emerging life on the forsythia bush though this morning, so that gives me a bit of hope that maybe Spring isn't too far away, and the nights are definitely drawing out again now. It was almost 6.00pm before I had to put the lights on last night, earlier today because it has been wet and gloomy all day.

Kath

[jane jackson]

The sun was still shining at 5.45pm today which was lovely but it's pouring with rain now! We have a few daffodil buds forming but nowhere near flowering yet and I did notice the muscari are pushing up their flower heads but very slowly. I'm expecting a wonderful summer this year after the last few and then this cold and frosty winter!!!!!!!!!!

[Sybille Weber]

We had another few inches of snow on the weekend. Most of today was dry but it is snowing again now. So far the main roads were mostly free, but we have now almost run out of salt, so one motorway already had to be closed. The remaining salt is used for the most frequented motorways but it is spread on one lane each direction only. I can't remember when I saw our street free of snow last - must have been some time last year, except for two or three days in-between when it was a little milder and much of the snow melted. No sign as yet of any spring flowers therefore. Instead we get more and more birds coming to feed here and several species, too, that we have never seen here before. So that's a positive side effect of the snow, although it's getting a bit too much at times for Mum. We are out most of the day, so Mum is preparing new portions of bird feed all day long as it is gone so quickly, and she also has an eye on the shy birds who don't dare to come to the balcony. She throws little portions of bird feed into the garden for them - if our neighbours are not watching, for they do not approve of the birds in their garden because of their droppings. A difficult situation sometimes.

[gloria townsin]

You've certainly had your share of snow this year Sybille. It's been with you for months now.

[nashie]

There's plenty of daffodils out here in Lamorna, but also plenty still in bud, so I'm sure there'll still be a good show for memorial weekend. Did anyone else see the beautiful new moon this evening? - just a sliver of a silver crescent, but with a faint light ring around the dark part, so it looked a bit like a diamond ring low in the sky.

[jane jackson]

No we didn't notice the moon but there again it was pouring with rain in our part of PZ all evening!

[Janet Swan]

Went out for an hour or so's walk with the group this afternoon - I won't mention the mud, mud, glorious mud!!! But, joy of joys, saw some absolutely wonder clumps of snowdrops in tiny patches of woodland. Also those gorgeous little bright yellow flowers - celandines or ???? Proof to me, at last, that Spring is just around the corner - I hope!!!

Janet

[gloria townsin]

That's encouraging Janet, every little flower head and bit of colour brings Spring a bit closer.

[Kath Mulligan]

Noticed this afternoon that the primroses in my window boxes, which had been looking very bedraggled and sorry for themselves after being under their snowy blanket for so long, are now throwing up lots of new flower buds, and a couple of the yellow ones are even beginning to bloom. Still no sign of the snowdrops flowering in the garden down the road from us though, and I am mystified as to where my crocus bulbs have gone! I planted about 75 last autumn and so far, can't see a single one of them!

Kath

[jane jackson]

On our way to Sennen beach this morning I noticed a field with daffodils flowering so that was a great sight. Yesterday when walking along at Newlyn about 5 houses had vases of daffodils in their windows, one had 3 vases full ~ they looked wonderful and made me feel like Spring is on its way.

Very frosty this morning. We had to go out at 9am and the car windows had the worst ice of this winter with pretty patterns in it too, suppose due to being wet before it froze. Glorious sunny day though, I've even been in the garden tidying up the dead leaves so the plants don't look quite so sorry for themselves.

[Kath Mulligan]

I've just come back from the hairdressers and it is trying to snow again here, only light flurries at the moment but the hills all around looked to be getting a good covering. We too had a hard frost this morning but the early sun soon melted it. The thermometer says it's 3C outside but it feels much colder than that, a really raw feel to the day.

It looked beautiful on Sennen Beach earlier this morning, Jane when I checked the webcams. Is Jessie's leg still doing ok or are you still keeping her on the lead for now?

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Pleasant sunny day here and not too bad temperature either. It can't last........sadly.

[Gill Bilcliffe]

Yes the new moon is lovely again tonight sparkling away and looking through a telescope it is even more beautiful.

Thankfully we are without snow here in Norwich. Joy of joys the sun came out this afternoon. How lovely and milder it felt with a promise of springtime but by teatime it turned really cold yet again. We still have a while to go yet with this winter but the year is certainly marching on!

Regards
Gilly

[adesmith]

Well we are back safe and well after a fantastic and very relaxing few days in Cornwall. We had such a good time and Cornwall did work its magic. The cottage in Pendeen was lovely although a bit cold at first but the owners came down and lit the Rayburn which made it very snug and cosy. The weather was quite good for February, cold but sunny most of the time. We had a good walk along the cliffs at Botallack and visited St Ives. On Sunday we went to Trengwainton where we met Jane (it was lovely to meet you Jane!) and then spent a couple of hours in the afternoon on the beach at Porthcurno. Monday saw us visiting Oliverland and I think Kath you will be in luck with the daffodils. In Oliverland itself they are still in bud and look like they may be a week or two before they flower - good timing. Yesterday we went to Falmouth and the Maritime Museum and then stopped at Rinsey Head on the way back. We spent a while watching the crashing waves. John I did notice the new moon last night and yes it was very impressive. We also spent some time watching the stars on Monday evening. We are not used to such clear skies! As John and Jane mentioned the weather was beautiful in West Penwith but by the time we got to Glastonbury on the M5 it was overcast and drizzly. Wales was very grey and rainy.

The only upsetting thing about our trip was the news that someone had tried to break into our house whilst we were away. A neighbour had spotted some youths acting strangely and running up the front garden and banging on the door. She said she was scared but she made her presence felt and they ran off, covering their faces. The police arrived an hour later and climbed into the back to search. In the meantime a house at the end of the road was burgled. We are very grateful but also sad for the poor people that were burgled.

[Janet Swan]

Welcome back, Adrian. What a lovely mini-holiday you all enjoyed, and lucky with pleasant weather too. Thanks for writing about it in such detail. Not a nice homecoming, but thankfully all was well, thanks to your neighbour. Enjoy the rest of your half term break.

Janet

[Janet Swan]

Seems a bit odd - to reply to my own post of yesterday! I should have said that the bright yellow flowers were aconites, not celandines. Oh, and today we had sunshine in North Hertfordshire - amazing, such a surprise, and so very welcome - for a change! In the town, I noticed people were smiling at each other - well, at me, as the sunshine made me smile! The rest of the week sounds like going back to Winter gloom again, but I've been able to spend an hour pottering in the garden today and it was great to do so. Most bulbs showing through well, but no sign of any crocuses (as Kath has mentioned) or tulips yet.

Janet

[jane jackson]

So glad you all enjoyed your Cornish break Adrian. It was lovely to meet all 3 of you. That must have been a bit of a shock to discover you could have been burgled while you were away, how lovely to have such a good neighbour.

[gloria townsin]

Great to hear you enjoyed your time in Cornwall and that it's magic worked again.......in fact it never fails. You certainly packed a lot in during your stay. I'm so sorry to hear you came home to such unpleasant news, thank goodness your neighbour was brave enough to cause the youngsters to leave, but horrible for the other people. Oliverland should be all a bloom for Memorial Weekend, something to look forward to.

[adesmith]

We are very fortunate with our neighbours and there is a nice little community. Many of them have lived on The Moorings for years and they all know each other. I am going to see about getting some external security lights fitted and next time we are away I will set a timer with lights to come on. Rachel is a bit nervous about being in the house on her own but it doesnt happen much at all in the evenings. We are both a bit shaken by the whole thing but it hasnt ruined our trip away. I am still feeling relaxed but I have to try and do a bit of school work today! Rachel has gone to work and Rupert to his grandparents (to give me chance to get some work done).

[gloria townsin]

Having had a very close encounter with a burgular in our last home - who actually did gain access.......I can understand how you feel Adrian. It's not nice to think that someone has made an attempt of any kind to enter your home. Outside lights are a really good idea.

[Kath Mulligan]

It's snowing again up here tonight, but very wet stuff so not really sticking too much. Looks as though it has been quite bad again in the West Midlands though. Hope no-one on the forum has been affected.

Kath

[Sybille Weber]

Oh dear, so winter doesn't seem to be over in England yet. After severe night frost we had the first mild day yesterday (+5), with quite a bit of rain so that most of the snow melted. This afternoon temperatures went up to as much as +7. However, our weathermen say, it's only a small interlude, and winter will not leave us really before the end of March, but then, they also forecast heavy cloud and heavy persistent rain for today, and it was a beautifully sunny day with not a cloud in the sky!

[adesmith]

Snowed all day here and it was very heavy at times. As with you Kath it was very wet snow and only settled on the grass etc. Started raining early evening and I think it has pretty much all gone now. I dont think I will be gardening with Rupert tomorrow as planned though!

Gosh, Sybille I hope that winter doesnt last that long for you! We had snow on St Davids Day a few years ago (1st March) and I think that was the latest we have had it for quite a few years. I am really ready for spring now.

Been looking into lights Gloria. Need to find someone to help me fit some unless I get the solar type. May call at B&Q or Homebase tomorrow. Its made us feel quite uneasy so the sooner the better really.

[Kath Mulligan]

We awoke to a light covering again this morning, although the roads were clear. It has been dry and sunny all morning so most of the snow has now gone again. Wish I could think we had seen the last of it but apparently there is a chance of more early next week. Actually quite pleasant out there just now though, so much so that I have hung some bedding out on the line and washed a couple of my fleece jackets. Don't suppose they will dry completely, but at least they will have had some fresh air.

Kath

[Kath Mulligan]

Been looking into lights Gloria. Need to find someone to help me fit some unless I get the solar type. May call at B&Q or Homebase tomorrow. Its made us feel quite uneasy so the sooner the better really.

What you really need are the heat sensitive lights that come on when they sense body heat, Adrian. Problem is you need to be careful of their range. My brother fitted some on his bungalow some years ago (and he is an electrician!) but then discovered that they were coming on everytime someone walked past on the pavement! I think he fixed that by angling them so they were facing down onto just his path and steps, but something to be aware of.

Kath

[adesmith]

Yes, I imagine that you would have to get the angle right. We have quite a long front garden so shouldnt be a problem with that. Need to work out how to do it in the back because I dont want to annoy the neighbour. Went to B&Q and saw the sensor lights. There wasnt much by way of solar lighting and someone told me that they wouldnt be very reliable. Didnt get anything in the end because I really dont know where to start.

[Kath Mulligan]

Just a thought, Adrian, but how about consulting your local community police officer? We have several neighbourhood watch schemes operating around here and the police are very good about giving hints and advice to people about ways of improving their security around the home. They may be able to suggest which lights might be most suitable and how to get them installed.

Kath

[adesmith]

Thats a good idea Kath. We do have community police officers and you can get in touch with them by email. Might try and do that over the weekend. I have also sent my step-brother a message because he is very good at DIY. If I act helplessness enough (which wont be difficult) he may come across and help me out - he lives just over the bridge in Bristol.

[GillyKat]

Tell him you'll treat him to a slap-up lunch if he helps you out!

We've had a complete contrast in the weather up here in Northumberland. On Wednesday it was like a spring day with blue skies, bright sunshine and lambs gambolling in the farmer's fields at Druridge Bay. Yesterday Neil came home from nightshift to announce that it had been snowing since 4am!!! Thankfully it was only an inch or so and it had all gone by the afternoon.
This morning it looked slightly grey but promising outside and I had planned to get out for a nice beach walk at Boulmer. I went to have my shower and when I came out, just five minutes later, it was snowing heavily!!! It lasted nearly an hour but thankfully didn't get too deep and I was still able to pop down to Ashington to go and look for a flock of 36 waxwings that had been reported. It took around 30 minutes but I did finally catch up with them.
Neil went off to work at 4.15pm and I decided to have a short walk along to the Canongate Bridge as there are usually Dippers and Kingfisher to be seen there. I had barely left the house when it began to snow again, huge soft flakes that quickly began to cover the ground. And now, three hours later, it is STILL snowing! After tonight's shift Neil is off for a week so I have a feeling, if this snow continues, we may be reading, watching a lot of dvd's this week and drinking endless pots of tea! Sounds heavenly!

[jane jackson]

That does sound good Gill! Hope you don't have too much snow though to stop your bird watching. We've had sleet showers here on and off today.

[gloria townsin]

Neighbourhood watch might also be able to give some good advice and point you in the right direction. We got ours from B&Q (where else?), we've got a long front garden and fortunately we don't have neighbours withing range either side of us as we are on a bend......yep, going round it most of the time!!........There should be leaflets in B&Q with advice about home security.

[GillyKat]

Thankfully we have only had an inch or two of snow overnight and it's now a lovely balmy 8.6 degrees C outside! Positively tropical...especially after hearing from a friend in Aberdeen who said it was -12 when he took his dogs out at first light this morning!
The snow looks SO pretty on the trees....here's a view out of my living room windw...

[gloria townsin]

Very pretty.......but please....no more snow!! How about some Spring weather? our lawn is so muddy and quite slippery and only a few things showing signs of life. The winter jasmin came and went and it's all a bit stagnant.......apart from the prims we planted in the hanging baskets and border of the little 'courtyard' bit of the garden, oh and a few pansies in one of the front beds. Hope it's not too cold for the rest of the weekend Gilly. From your picture looks a bit like hot soup weather still. Thanks for the peep out of your window.

[jane jackson]

Looks beautiful but I'm enjoying the sunshine we have down here. It's been 32c in our living room due to the 3 sets of glass doors ~ 10c outside.

Our lawn is in a state too, some places more than others with Rosie and Jessie out there quite a bit. Luckily they don't run around quite so much unlike our neighbour's 2 yr old male Rough Collie who acts like a little boy and jumps in puddles! Caroline's lawn is very small as she has lots of trees and shrubs around the edge of her back garden and it really is a mudbath. I keep reassuring her it will grow back but I'm beginning to be not quite so certain now.

[Kath Mulligan]

My new lawn is looking a bit sorry for itself too at the moment but I am hoping that once it dries out a bit and I can give it a strim and mow it with the blades well up, it will soon pick up. Not much sign of that happening anytime soon though since we have yet more of the white stuff on the way tomorrow and next week if the forecasters are to be believed.

Don't know about Rosie and Jessie not running around your lawn so much, Jane, they did enough haring around out there when I was staying with you! Like greased lightning sometimes.

Although it's bright and quite sunny up here too today, our temperature can't match yours - just looked at the weather station and it is currently 3.8C in our back garden, and that's probably as high as it's got today.

Kath

[adesmith]

Tell him you'll treat him to a slap-up lunch if he helps you out!

Too late I am afraid and my hints didnt work! He just sent me a long list of instructions which just puzzled me all the more. :angry:

Its been a very cold day here but there has been some lovely sunshine so I spent the afternoon in the garden. Just tidying up really. I put some more bark chippings down in our 'woodland garden, without any trees' and planted a few new primroses that I accidently bought at the garden centre yesterday. I painted a trellis to go next to the front door because I bought some Boston Ivy in the autumn and it will need something to climb up. The garden is looking very sorry for itself and as I have said before all the pansies and polyanthus that I put in in the autumn look in a bit of a state. I did feed them today (someone told me to do that in the winter years ago) and I got rid of a few of them that had rotted. The lawn looks awful and it will be a long time before it dries out. The front of the house faces north and so obviously the house blocks the sunshine getting to it. Its also got the streaks on it from the 'weed and feed' that I didnt put on it properly! Cant wait for the growing season. I already have some geranium, dahlia and marigold seedings and I might start a few more things off tomorrow. As some of you know Rupert now has Chicken Pox so we are going to give church a miss tomorrow and I may get out there and do some more gardening. :happy:

[Linda]

have you and Rachel had CP??........

[adesmith]

Yes we both have when we were younger so it shouldnt affect us. I think there is a lot of it going round at the moment so it was probably inevitable that he would get it some time soon. He really doesnt seem to be bothered at the moment and Rachel has bought some lotions and potions for if it starts itching.

[gloria townsin]

Sorry about the Chicken Pox......although my sister and I had it in the height of the Summer I think it is a Winter disease. It will almost certainly itch and be unbearable so be prepared for some sleepless nights or at least disturbed ones. I remember my Mum buying us Lucozade which was a new miracle drink at the time ........ I loved it because it was fizzy and was the only good thing about Chicken Pox although books and colouring pencils were pretty good too.
I think our cyclamen bit the dust at the last lot of snow as they are nowhere to be seen and the ornamental cabbages long since took on a wilted expression, they looked so horrible I pulled them out. I did give a thought to seed sowing as I have a heated propagator in the greenhouse but as we already have so much to move I'm not sure I want to add to it. I will be a bit sorry to leave this greenhouse as we bought it for the Croxley bungalow so it's barely a couple of years old and as you know Bryher's one sports the 'patchwork quilt' look!! But I expect we will replace it once we are there.
Don't be phased by the security instructions Adrian, just give yourself time to read and digest.......Eddie is ace at these things, but I am less so, therefore understand how you feel. But do try B&Q they have so many different versions of security lighting, solar is no good you need something that will come on if someone is around the house. You might need to get it wired up by an electrician but it will be worth it.

[Kath Mulligan]

I vividly remember when I had chickenpox since I was about 10 years old and we were just about to go on holiday to Weymouth. One of my playmates had gone down with it about 10 days earlier so Mum had been anxiously watching me for several days, but I appeared to be fine, so off we went, Mum, Dad, my brother, me and my friend, Jacqueline. We were staying in a guest house on the outskirts of Weymouth, and fortunately there were no other guests in that week, so the landlady agreed that we could stay. I had already had one disaster on the journey down since my brother had trapped my finger in the car door and split my nail, then just one day into the holiday, out came the spots! I didn't feel ill at all, just itchy, but what really annoyed me was that I had to keep well away from other kids on the beach and wasn't allowed to go in the sea (no idea why!) so I had to sit in a deckchair watching Mike and Jacqui having a whale of a time while I sulked!!

Kath

[gloria townsin]

My sister got it just prior to our Blackpool holiday then passed it on to me, as we travelled by coach we had to forgo our holiday with all the family .... I was so dissapointed as I loved to be on holiday with grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.....we went away instead a couple of months later but it wasn't the same as being with the whole family. Those were the days you could take time off school during term time and no-one seemed to mind.

[jane jackson]

Adrian, sorry to hear Rupert has chicken pox, just as well your Cornish visit was last weekend. My friend's young grandchildren in London have it too.

[Sybille Weber]

Sorry to hear, Rupert has chickenpox, good timing really though that it didn't come any earlier and spoil your visit to Cornwall.

We have had two snowfree days here now, and the sight of the green lawns everywhere was quite unusual, but, as I looked out of the window a few hours ago I couldn't believe my eyes. Everything was white again. It's just about 1/2 inch though, and as milder temperatures are forecast it might have gone by tomorrow. I hope.

[adesmith]

Thanks all. He is even more covered in spots today but at the moment really doesnt seem bothered. It was lucky that they didnt come out in Cornwall although he was a bit poorly. Infact as we were driving up the A30 on the way home (and we hadnt got very far) he was sick. Quite unlike him and he doesnt get travel sick so I thought it was because he had wound himself up and got excited. We pulled off onto a country road I think near Cambourne or Redruth and Rachel wiped him down - it was a bit traumatic being faced with a journey home smelling of sick but it wasnt too bad. Anyway he is happy today helping Rachel clean out the car (sand!) and me putting up a trellis near the front door. This involves a drill so he is in his element! I am hoping that the Boston Ivy (I think that is what it is called) will grow up the wall. I shall probably regret it in 6 months time when I am having to hack it back!

Sunny day here but it looks like there has been some fresh snow on the mountains.

[Sybille Weber]

Last night's snow has melted, the temperature has gone up to +7, the first blackbird sang this morning, and I have just spotted the first little cluster of snowdrops in our neighbours' garden. Looks promising.

[jane jackson]

The sun isn't quite managing to come out today but we enjoyed our walk on Sennen beach just getting caught in a shower at the end. There were lots of folk with kayaks having a wonderful time coming in with the waves ~ think I could quite fancy that. It's having the confidence to be able to right them when they turn over and you end up underneath that I'm not sure about. There was a gig out practising too and then the lifeboat launched and sped off, disappearing over the horizon. No idea if it was a shout or just an exercise. On the way home we saw telegraph wires absolutely covered in birds, presume starlings.

[Kath Mulligan]

Our overnight snowfall has now largely disappeared from the roads and pavements thankfully, although it is looking decidedly grey and grim out there again at the moment. Had to make use of my large orange snow shovel this morning to clear the way to Mum's coalplace and stock her up so that she doesn't need to go out at all today. Was very surprised to pull back the curtains and see a couple of inches lying, since we had only had light flurries forecast. Apparently much more to come tomorrow and Wednesday so have been out to Tesco this afternoon and stocked up on groceries and veg - just in case!

Sounds like you had an eventful time at Sennen, Jane - plenty going on to watch.

Sorry to hear that Rupert is even more spotty today, Adrian. The consolation is that once the blisters appear, the illness is generally over its worst stages and he should soon start to feel better. It doesn't sound as though it is bothering him too much if he is car cleaning and drilling!

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Littlies bounce back from illness quicker than older patients, so Rupert should be fine in no time. The sickness will definitely be due to the C.P. My guess is the sea air in Cornwall helped him and as you did so many outdoorsy things won't have spread it around too much, but then again it's a childhood illness and better get it over with. Never sure if older people get shingles from C.P. or t'other way round, that would be the only thing to try and avoid as shingles is a horrible illness, our old neighbour had it and it went on for ages, very painful.

The orange shovel was determined to be used Kath........but hope it won't have too much more working days this year!!

[Janet Swan]

Never sure if older people get shingles from C.P. or t'other way round, that would be the only thing to try and avoid as shingles is a horrible illness, our old neighbour had it and it went on for ages, very painful.


Not certain if this is true, but a couple of days ago a friend told me that her poor daughter (29 years old) has shingles. She said that if you had chicken pox as a child you were more likely to develop shingles as an adult, which rather surprised me, although as she's an ex school teacher I tend to believe everything she says!!! But, of course, hope this doesn't worry Adrian and Rachel - very sorry!!!

Janet

[adesmith]

I have had shingles and it wasnt very nice. I dont think Rachel. I dont think that you can catch shingles from someone who has chicken pox because I think shingles comes from having the chicken pox virus already in you. Apparently it comes out when you are run down. But I think you can catch chicken pox from someone who has shingles. I am sure we will be fine. I am sure that the sea air and getting out and about in Cornwall did help Rupert. It did wonders for me and I have had a lovely half term. Really hope that I can keep this relaxed feeling for more than an hour tomorrow morning!!!

I guess that at least you had chance to use your shovel Kath. You might have felt cheated if you didnt have chance to try it out! Hope that it doesnt snow too much but at least you are prepared. At this time of the year I suppose it doesnt hang around as much. Apparently the snow is coming in a line from the Bristol Channel to the Wash so I am guessing that we could see a bit. Hope not.

[Linda]

I remember having chicken pox as a child of about7/8 years old and we always went to Barry Island on Sunday's ..Mum said that swimming in the sea would help the cp...and I think it did as I dont recall itching as much afterwards.
Just been reading up about both and Shingles sounds pretty horrendous....must make sure I dont get stressed out!
get well soon Rupert!...I love that name Rupert!

[Kath Mulligan]

[QUOTE=adesmith;51182]
I guess that at least you had chance to use your shovel Kath. You might have felt cheated if you didnt have chance to try it out! /QUOTE]

Trust me, Adrian, I should not have felt cheated at all .... merely relieved that my insurance policy had worked.

Kath

[jane jackson]

Can't remember if I've told this story before ~ sorry if I have! I got chicken pox when I was 35 and I blamed my Mum having shingles at the time! The week before I'd taken posession of Meg my 2nd Rough Collie 8 weeks old and had taken a weeks holiday from work to bond with her. Having got the chicken pox I then was off work for another fortnight so spent a lot of time asleep in an armchair with Meg on my lap so we had plenty of bonding time. Still had to see to the horses though. There was only one period of illness that I had to ask friends to feed my horses as it was winter and I think I must have had proper flu as opposed to a bad cold as I just couldn't bear the thought of getting out of bed and going down to the field whi;ch was unlike me.

Hope tomorrow isn't too bad Adrian, glad you enjoyed half term. I actually went on Facebook today on the FOMS site and saw your photos of your August holiday. I couldn't find how to make a comment ~ am I being dense again? See Janet you're not the only one at all.

[adesmith]

Thanks Jane. I tried to add some photos on here yesterday but I dont think it worked. If I add you as a friend on Facebook then you can see the pictures that I put on from our recent trip as well. I should put a few across on the Facebook group as well. As far as making a comment is concerned, there should be a box underneath that you type in and then you click send (or whatever it says).

Linda I am not sure I would swim at Barry Island today with Chicken Pox or not! I wont swim any further up the Bristol Channel than Gower. I am sure that the water is much cleaner these days but it always looks so dirty with the estuary mud! I am too spoilt with the beautiful clear water in Cornwall. I am even reluctant to swim when we visit my Mum in Torquay. I am sure that you probably know this but Barry Island is very trendy again all of a sudden. Its because of the Gavin and Stacey tv program.

[Barbara]

Hi everyone,
Sorry I've been away for a bit - got slightly addicted to pursuing some ancestors in my genealogical meanderings (ended up in Edinburgh in the early 1800's) - then had some trouble with my internet wireless connection.
Sorry to hear that Rupert has chicken pox, Adrian. However, sounds like he is well on the mend. I remember having it at about three - mum set me up on the front porch in the sun when I was starting to recover - it's one of my earliest memories.
Can't believe that it is still threatening to snow over there. Our weather has been quite temperate this last week, but apparently we have a bit of hot stuff forecast for later in the week - let's hope it is the last hoorah for extremes of weather in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
:wave:

[gloria townsin]

Wondered where you'd got to Barbara. Well done on your research so far.

Jane you popped up to be added as a friend on facebook and I clicked on allow and then your picture was gone and I'm not sure if I've added you or not. I'm not that good on facebook for some reason I can't get into it as much as I do this forum.

[Kath Mulligan]

Thanks Jane. I tried to add some photos on here yesterday but I dont think it worked. If I add you as a friend on Facebook then you can see the pictures that I put on from our recent trip as well. I should put a few across on the Facebook group as well. As far as making a comment is concerned, there should be a box underneath that you type in and then you click send (or whatever it says).



Jane, you are not being dense. You need to be a friend on Facebook before you can add comments to a photo, so if Adrian adds you as a friend, then you will be able to comment. Can't remember if you and I are also friends on there. If not, I will send a friend request to you, then you will be able to see all my pics too.

Kath

[Linda]

Barry Island ...trendy! My goodness I dont ever remember it being trendy....there was a fun fair there when I was little and lots of families went on Sundays and the water was quite clean at that time I think?! I went back there about 20 years ago and couldnt believe how different it looked it was quite sad looking...is it like that now or has it had a face lift? I have very happy memories of it as I do of St Fagans, the day we went there has to be one of the most memorable of my life....I can still see parts of it in my minds eye and would love to revisit to find out where it was that I smelled the beautiful perfume of a tree which has stuck with me for ooooeerrrr! just under 50 years!!!!!! OMG OMG OMG .....think this is the real reason why Derek and Jeannie never talked about age and years...oh do I understand why now!! :):~:)

[jane jackson]

Jane you popped up to be added as a friend on facebook and I clicked on allow and then your picture was gone and I'm not sure if I've added you or not. I'm not that good on facebook for some reason I can't get into it as much as I do this forum.

When I looked at my emails just now I see all 3 of you (Adrian, Kath, Gloria) have added me as a friend on Facebook. Not sure how I popped up with regard to you Gloria if you didn't instigate it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I've clicked on the confirm ok so we're all friends...................I'm not good on Facebook either Gloria but at least I can now try to look at Adrian's recent photos and comment. I think Bryan already thinks I spend too much time up here on this computer, he finds he's talking to himself downstairs and I can hear the stairs creak as he comes up to find me.

Glad to see you again Barbara, you were missed. I understand how addictive the family history gets though, when you're on the trail you just have to keep going. Which part of Edinburgh did you end up in? My Mum came from Leith, Edinburgh.

[Kath Mulligan]

When I went to add you as a friend, Jane, it asked me to suggest other people I knew who you might also know, so I suggested Gloria, Adrian, Liz and Linda.

Had to laugh at your comment about Bryan talking to himself downstairs - I'm sure Rosie and Jessie would have been snuggled up to him keeping him company!

Kath

[Barbara]

Jane, I'm not that sure what part of Edinburgh My great great great grandfather lived as far as districts,etc - but I do have a couple of street names so it should be fairly easy to work it out.
He was a solicitor before the supreme court. I have one address for him in the early years (which I accessed by tracking him down to a witness in a trial of someone called Stuart who had killed someone in a duel) this address was Pitt Street, which I think might be in Leith. I'm not sure if this was a home address or the address for some sort of law chambers.
The other address I found upon finding the names of his sons attending the Edinburgh Academy - this address - which appears to be a home address - was given as 3 Gloucester Place...which sounds rather nice.
:yo:

[tarn]

I also got C/P when I was 10 years old while on holiday in Skegness. If you lived in the Midlands, Derby etc it was the nearest Seaside resort. Skeggie and Great Yarmouth and as my Grandad worked at The Locomotive Works in Derby we all got free rail travel.

[tarn]

Back to the thread of more snow in Britain: well we had about 5 inches Saturday evening, we have been out for the day today to Bakewell market and due to heaps of the white stuff everywhere the market was cancelled. the roads were clear but on the way back the wind was causing a few scary patches of drifting snow. It's been 0.00 degrees here all day and now the snow has a definate crust on it.
Noddy the kitten has been chasing snowballs and doing a bit of skating on the snow!

[gloria townsin]

This bit of Hertfordshire had heavy torrential rain all night and then.......it turned to snow......of the kind that lays........happily it was all gone by mid-afternoon. I'm going to wave goodbye to it in the hopes it won't return.

[Kath Mulligan]

This bit of Hertfordshire had heavy torrential rain all night and then.......it turned to snow......of the kind that lays........happily it was all gone by mid-afternoon. I'm going to wave goodbye to it in the hopes it won't return.

After a very hard frost this morning, it's been nice and sunny here all day, but the gritting lorry has just gone up the road, so who knows what we shall get up to in the morning. The wind has picked up quite a bit in the past couple of hours.

Kath

[Kath Mulligan]

I also got C/P when I was 10 years old while on holiday in Skegness. If you lived in the Midlands, Derby etc it was the nearest Seaside resort. Skeggie and Great Yarmouth and as my Grandad worked at The Locomotive Works in Derby we all got free rail travel.


Living at the other end of the county from you, Tarn, Southport, Blackpool and the North Wales resorts were our nearest seaside towns. I have always had a strong dislike of Blackpool, so we went most often to Southport, where if you were lucky you might just have caught a glimpse of the sea in the far distance! Never known anywhere where the tide goes out so far.

Did you live in Derby itself? One of my best friends from my college days was brought up in Spondon. Both her parents worked at British Celanese there.

Kath

[tarn]

Yes I lived in the centre of Derby for 23 years and then lived for 14 years 2 miles from Derby in Darley Abbey. I know Spondon well as my Stepdad's parents lived on Nottingham Road in Spondon.

[adesmith]

I had to do a lunchtime duty at school today, 50 minutes standing on the yard. It was so cold! It felt like the wind was blowing right through me! I couldnt help but think that exactly one week before we had been walking the coast path to Oliver Land and that I had had to take my coat off because it was so sunny!

[tarn]

I think that is part of the attraction to Cornwall; the weather. I think in one thread a few days ago Jane Jackson mentioned that it was 10 degrees outside in Penzance and I thought ' I can't remember the last time it was near that here'. Up North we are really experiencing low temperatures lately, last summer we only sat out in the garden twice and had one BBQ here. Even more reason to move there. I would love a few days lent as Derek used to say.

[Sybille Weber]

Couldn't believe my eyes when the thermometer climbed to +11 deg. C today after all this snow, but .... very wet and windy.

[gloria townsin]

Adrian that is quite Dickensian having to be outside for almost an hour in such freezing, horrible weather. I should think it took you the rest of the afternoon to warm up again.

[nashie]

I've had shingles Adrian and as you say it wasn't nice! It can sometimes be a very serious illness indeed and your description is exactly right, it's the chicken pox virus staying in the body permanently and it's particularly important if you have it to avoid contact with pregnant women.

[GillyKat]

I remember having chicken pox as a child too and my mother covering the spots in calamine lotion to stop the itching. I had a very mild bout of shingles too when I was 15, just before Christmas!!! It was just a tiny patch next to my belly button and soon went away.
Neil on the other hand ~ my wonderful hypochondriac husband ~ had shingles when we were on holiday in the Lakes in September 2009 :blink: It was all along his side and around his back and he thought at first that it was just his waistband of his jeans rubbing as he had put on a few pounds LOL But by the second week it started to scab over (hope no-one's eating whilst reading this!) and I reckoned it WAS shingles so dragged him, kicking and screaming, to the doctors! He took one look and said it WAS shingles but was past the infectious stage......so then Neil started panicking that he had passed it on to various friends that he had been in contact with the previous fortnight. He spent a good hour on the phone ringing everyone up but luckily nobody had caught it. Perhaps you are only prone to it when you are run-down?

Weatherwise, it's a beautiful sunny day outside and the birds are very active BUT ~ there's always a but ~ there is heavy snow forecast for tonight :fie: Hopefully it won't be as bad as they were saying on tv last night!!!

[Gill Bilcliffe]

I too had Chicken Pox when I was six and still have the scares to prove it! It is the only illness other than colds I had as a child and young to middlage adult (all seems to be aging downhill in these senior years)! My older sister however had measles and most of the other childhood ailments so when I came along my mother decided that I would have no vacinations like my sister. Mum believed the vacinations didn't help immunisation. So I have gone through life without a polio jab even at the time when polio was rife in the fifties. Tetanus jab only a few years ago after a nasty cut from a rose bush. In all I haven't done badly and thankful for so.

Lovely sunny day here in Norwich. Have even managed to put the washing out! Expect rain later now!

[gloria townsin]

I think I remember a very old myth that if the shingles met around your waist you would die. Obviously an old country saying and very amusing in an enlightened age. I often wonder how anyone got better at all in days long past, we treat everything with so many pills and potions, although they will often be based on the herbal medications that were available to a simpler time. Certainly a lot more people survive illnesses that would have killed people off in large numbers, but do we overdose too much now? I can't claim to be whiter than white as I throw a pill down my throat for headaches at the beginning of them knowing they will develop into real stinkers where I can do nothing but take to bed. And I do remember well the high polio days of the 50's probably because our next door neighbour's eldest son had it and my Mum went into a flat spin when the younger son handed my sister an ice-cream he had been licking and my sister took a bite of it. This child had visited his brother in hospital and my Mum was terrified my sister would catch polio. Poor Mum she really was in a state. The child with polio recovered, I think he had a slight limp, the brother didn't get it and neither did my sister. I am in favour of immunisation in the same way I vaccinate the dogs. People will say their dogs aren't vaccinated and don't get the diseases that vaccination prevents, but my theory is they don't get it because others do vaccinate their dogs and so the diseases are reduced. I noticed there are big outbreaks of parvo in Cornwall, which we don't seem to have here. Parvo is one of the most avoidable diseases via vaccination and an illness that kills pretty disastrously. Tests on alternative preventions have been proved not to work so although I do think that natural remedies have their place in supporting other medications I don't personally believe they should be used instead of. Just my opinion and others will definitely feel differently.

[Kath Mulligan]

I had all the childhood ailments - chicken pox, measles, german measles, mumps, whooping cough - the lot. I had already been vaccinated again whooping cough but still caught it, although not as badly as several of my playmates. I was vaccinated against polio at primary school on an emergency programme because a girl in the class below me contracted the disease. Janet was in an iron lung for several months, but did eventually recover although she was left with a badly wasted leg that required her to wear a permanent caliper. Also had to be tested for TB when I was at grammar school as a girl in another class went down with it and was in a sanatorium for almost 12 months. Everyone in the school had the skin patch test, some went on to need the full vaccination, most didn't need it. I was one of the lucky ones who proved to have some natural immunity so didn't have to have it.

Both my girls had all the vaccinations going, including whooping cough, which was very controversial at that time. Back then the measles vaccine was given separately and rubella at 13. Not sure how I would have felt about the triple vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella; that seems to be a large load for a small baby's immune system to cope with all at once. I'm sure there would be much less controversy, and a much higher uptake if parents were allowed to have the vaccines given one at a time over a period rather than the triple whammy.

Kath

[Janet Swan]

I had to do a lunchtime duty at school today, 50 minutes standing on the yard. It was so cold! It felt like the wind was blowing right through me!

You're a hero, Adrian, and deserve a medal! I guess the children kept warmer because they run around whereas you really couldn't. My home overlooks a primary school playing field, and I am always rather concerned when the children are out playing their sports - in often awful wet and cold weather - yet there they are running around in quite thin sports clothes getting covered in mud! Must be very uncomfortable. At weekends, there are football matches. The parents watch, well wrapped up under umbrellas, and the kids charge around in just shorts and football shirts often in torrential rain. Does anyone actually enjoy this, I wonder?!

Janet

[Gill Bilcliffe]

I believe natural remedies support conventional medicine although having tried an alternative remedy for a complaint of late I found it of no use. Plus these remedies can be very expensive too.

Re immunisation needless to say my Katy has her yearly visit to the vets for protection ~ wouldn't dream of leaving her open to feline serious complaints.

[gloria townsin]

There are so many different opinions on vaccination, so I guess you have to make the decision and go with it. Homeopathic remedies are very valuable in lots of cases but only to support other meds I've found. Arnica is very good for bruising for instance and good to give a bitch at the end of whelping. But if a person or animal has a disease, illness whatever I would always consult someone medically qualified. My vet does sometimes reccomend homeopathic remedies to help conventional treatment and uses a lot of honey in her operations, very good healer. I would agree Kath in that I would hate to have to decide on a lot of vaccinations being given in one go to a baby..........not something I would relish having to do. My boys had their whooping cough vacc. and Paul did get it but, as with you, it was mild, in fact it was only because I heard the horrible whoop once maybe twice I knew that was what it was. Paul caught C.P. at a much later age, I think he was about 18, and he was really ill, I had to call the doctor home to him twice. Have no idea why he didn't get it when Matthew had it as a small child. Glad Katy is well protected against kitty ills.

[jane jackson]

I wasn't keen on lacrosse at school as it always seemed to be cold, wet and muddy and we had to wear shorts and Tshirt, possibly we could wear a sweater ~ can't remember that bit. I wasn't good at games so my position would be one which involved a lot of standing around. We had to walk quite a distance to reach our playing fields (must have been a mile) but that bit I enjoyed as you could chat to your friends on the way. Of course a lot of the girls did love the game and certainly my godson at 13 yrs absolutely adores his football so his Mum and sister are there every sunday cheering him on. Mind you I was happy to ride whatever the weather! My parents used to sit in the car in the field,with a flask of tea in the pouring rain waiting for me to come back from my weekly ride at the riding school ~ good old Mum & Dad!

On the subject of animals ~ I always have mine vaccinated as if I didn't mine would be the ones to get the disease.

I only tried homeopathic remedies once on the advice of a friend's father who was really into it. I was having breathing problems with lots of coughing up mucous which my GP wasn't sorting. It didn't work but by chance on another visit to the Surgery when my GP was on holiday I saw a different one who got me a hospital appointment which confirmed I had an allergy to various moulds and spores and did sort it.

[adesmith]

You're a hero, Adrian, and deserve a medal!

Thanks Janet :) That long duty is a paid extra one that I was persuaded to do when they needed help a while or so ago. I have been thinking recently about giving it up but I dont like letting people down plus its a bit of extra money which is always useful. I do another one tomorrow but that is mostly indoors. I had to do my 'proper' duty today at break, the one that you have to do legally and again it was so cold and wet (it was snowing). I was wrapped up warm but some of the pupils were not even wearing coats! They dont seem to feel the cold and they do run run around as you say.

I didnt really used to enjoy sport much at school and I remember playing rugby or football in the winter!!! It is terrible for youngsters that arent sporty. I remember once when a PE teacher shouted at me and said 'Smith, you are not even dirty' during a rugby match (I had been standing around talking with fellow non lovers of sport!). As soon as he turned around I just dropped to my knees in the mud and then stood back up again!

We were worried about Rupert having the Swine Flu vaccination recently but decided to go for it in the end. When we called to book him in there was no more appointments available and they didnt know when they would be doing it again. That decided that one for us!

[gloria townsin]

I was one of the shivering kids who did not enjoy sport and even less standing around during PE getting cold. I used to think what a waste of time, I could have been learning and doing things that would have done me much more good. I can understand nowadays with children not getting as much exercise that time needs to be given in an attempt to get them to exercise but we didn't have that problem when I was a child we had little if any TV and no other screens to sit in front of so we were always out playing and getting our exercise that way.

[Kath Mulligan]

Afraid I was one of those sporty kids who was always out and about in all weathers. I hated hockey and would do anything I could to get out of that, but I loved netball and played for the school team. Even quite enjoyed going for a cross country run in winter - my aunt and uncle lived en route, and sometimes a few of us would nip in for a quick cuppa! In summer I practically lived on the tennis court and played both for the school and the local club that I belonged to. I rather suspect that some of the back problems that have plagued me since my mid-twenties may have arisen because of the amount of tennis that I played and the way I twisted my body around when I served. I loved using the gym equipment too and would happily throw myself into handstands and headstands on the box and pommel horse etc. Now my blood runs cold to even think about it! Would love to be that fit again though.

Kath

[Barbara]

I loved sport as well and even when not engaged in something organized I would usually find something to do outdoors that involved me throwing my body around. However, I always used to feel for the children that weren't like me and who were made to endure gym and team sports. My daughter, Natalie, was like that. She always seemed to have two left feet and hated organized sport. I remember one year as she was nearing the end of primary school, she proudly informed me that she had started the dreaded cross-country run then somehow hightailed it into a vacant classroom where she spent twenty minutes happily munching on a muesli bar, then joined the rest of the pack as they entered the home straight.
She became so adept at avoiding sport at high school that she lamented that there wasn't an Olympic category for such a thing - good on her for being creative in her anti-sport endeavours, I say.
:girl_wacko:

[Liz]

I rather suspect that some of the back problems that have plagued me since my mid-twenties may have arisen because of the amount of tennis that I played and the way I twisted my body around when I served. I loved using the gym equipment too and would happily throw myself into handstands and headstands on the box and pommel horse etc. Now my blood runs cold to even think about it! Would love to be that fit again though.

Kath

I'm sure you're right there Kath, I put my back problems down to a riding accident in my 20's and shoulder pain to all the tennis and badminton I played.
I also hated hockey, we used to have to travel by very cold double decker bus to the local racecourse to play, I can still remember the freezing cold winds which whipped across the race course around our bare legs. It always seemed such an unnatural sport to me - running around bent over a stick, I loved other sports and gymnastics though.

I've been catching up and reading further back in this thread - sorry to hear about the chicken pox Adrian.

We are so lucky nowadays to have modern medicine to hand - not many of us would be here now if we had had to rely on the cures of a hundred years ago. I've had three illnesses which would have finished me off over the years, the first in my twenties so there would be none of my children/grandchildren and so on in the world today. John wouldn't be around as he had polio as a child - fortunately with little in the way of after effects.

Hail to the good old NHS!

[Barbara]

Hi Liz,
I know what you mean by modern medicine making such a difference.
Natalie developed type 1 diabetes just before she turned ten, which, as you can imagine, was a huge shock for all of us. But once we learned what it was all about and how to give needles and manage the condition, there was no other way but forward. Of course it was a huge imposition on her life but she never balked at needles because she knew they would keep her alive. In fact, she decided to change from two needles a day to four because it gave her much better control - and she has a wonderful insulin pen that she just has to dial up, making things that little bit easier.
It did cross my mind at the time she was diagnosed that if she had been born in earlier times the outcome would have been very different.

[gloria townsin]

I feel for your daughter Barbara as we would have made a good pair re sports. And yet what happened when my boys were at school, I was one of the few Mums on the side lines watching football, taking them riding, buying them their first pony and being out in all weathers mucking out and all the essentials of horse management. Then to top it off I started to coach (I mean to say!!) the tetrathlon team in swimming (which I can't!), running (which I'd avoided!) shooting (which I'd never done!) and riding cross country (which I'd - o.k. you've go the gist!!). And yet OBHN had a very successful team in spite of their poorly equipped coach. Mind you I never let on that I didn't know what I was doing. Actually the one thing I was pretty good at, for some reason, is walking a cross country or SJ course. Plus lots of encouragement and instilling in even the most nervous child they could do it, they never failed to amaze me as they rose to the challenge of beating themselves each time they competed and thereby doing well for their team. My Dad used to say 'Gloria, you're not cut out for all this outside stuff with horses,' made me determined to do it.

My eldest sister had spina bifida and only lived six weeks, nowadays she would have received the care, medication and treatment that these children have available and would have lived and probably a good life at that. So much in life is a matter of timing.

[jane jackson]

Gloria I was always very good at encouraging friends and telling them how they should ride a XC course when I didn't have to ride it myself ~ amazing how much confidence you have when you know you're not going to have to do it yourself. You sound as though you were very successful with your coaching so you obviously knew the theory and said the right things to give them the confidence.

[Linda]

SNOW! well you should we got today, all teh snow that feel over Xmas was nothing compared to today!...I have posted a picture on my album but the one you see is a very small snow drift at the beginning of our lane, as you go further down the drifts begin to get bigger ...three/ four feet..yes I know its not six eight ten feet.but when you dont normally get any snow....I walked down the field at the back of me..whilst Jeff couldnt get the four by four down the lane so had to go via the fields, he tried to get the tractor through the lane without success....I tell you something though I will never sit and watch a film again and say oh come on its not that bad when you see them crossing a snow driven area puffing and panting and making out how hard it is!!
:):)

[Kath Mulligan]

Yes, it's a great workout for the leg and back muscles tramping in the snow, isn't it? Our overnight fall melted during the day when we have enjoyed almost Springlike conditions for a pleasant change.

What do all your cats make of the snow? I remember our cat, Cindy, being most disgusted when I turfed her out one morning and she sank right up to her stomach in it! She was a very dainty, fastidious little lady and it was hilarious to watch her gingerly picking up one paw after the other, shaking it, then of course having to put it right back down into the snow. Once she had made her way back to the door, she shot into the kitchen and hissed at me as if to say, "if you think you're going to send me out there again, you can forget it"!! Now I've sussed out how to use this new scanner, I must find a photo of her and post it on here.

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Cindy has her canine equivalent in Faith. She stands on three legs changing the foot she holds aloft at frequent intervals, I guess she thinks by doing that she is keeping one foot warm and dry. If only she would stop messing about and do the necessary she would be back indoors in a trice instead of the posing performance that in the end she has to abandon. Bobbi is so little she just goes whoosh up to the tum. Will take a look at your pic Linda.......it will be wonderful when we can write how nice the weather is.

[Linda]

I love this Gloria...they are so funny aren't they!

[GillyKat]

Well the forecasted snow didn't arrive....we got rain instead which has cleared all the snow away. Today it is grey, misty and damp but as I am stuck indoors painting the bathroom I'm not bothered what it does outside.

[Kath Mulligan]

Well the forecasted snow didn't arrive....we got rain instead which has cleared all the snow away. Today it is grey, misty and damp but as I am stuck indoors painting the bathroom I'm not bothered what it does outside.

I'm surprised you escaped the snow, Gill, having seen some photos in this morning's newspaper of folk having to dig their cars out of deep snow yesterday in Durham. That was alongside a pic of a stupid woman who had to be rescued from her car after driving into a river! Apparently the ford is usually only a couple of inches deep but there was a depth marker sign at the edge of the ford and you could quite clearly see that it was showing a reading of 3.5ft at the edge, so why the idiot thought it would be any less deep as she got further into it, I simply can't imagine. She is going to be in for a big shock too if she tries to claim on her insurance for the damage to her car because they will undoubtedly refuse to pay up.

Kath

[jane jackson]

Definitely no sympathy there then Kath!!!!!!!!!! There was a ford near us on Exmoor right on a 90 degree bend and quite a few visitors drove through far too fast despite the signs and drowned their exhaust so ended up stranded in the middle and that was never even as high as 3ft. A lot of wet shoes as they climbed out of their cars to go for help. The local farmer probably did quite well out of it. I hadn't even considered that the Insurance Company would probably not pay out ~ that's your experience with the NFU coming out.

We have very heavy rain just now so glad we went to Sennen at 8am when it was dry. The tides aren't going out very far at the moment so we decided to go on low water as yesterday on Long Rock there wasn't much beach to walk on.

[gloria townsin]

Raining here now........daft lady.......she won't get a bean I shouldn't think.

Hope the paintings going well Gilly........you're not missing anything outside at present.

[adesmith]

Have you still got lots of snow Linda? I saw Scotland on the news early and how badly some areas had been affected by the snow. This is certainly a winter we will remember. We need the spring to hurry along now! Its St David's Day on Monday and there are barely any daffodils around. I havent any flowering this year and all of the ones in the ground have a long way to go yet. I did put some in the big vegetable growing planters at the side of the house and they have grown. I put them in there for cutting (its the closest that I am getting to living the Minack life at the moment!) and we have had a couple of small vases out of them.

[GillyKat]

The painting never got started Gloria :tongue: Neil woke up with a crashing hangover from a touch too much port last night and was VERY fragile today :bad: (no sympathy from me!) so whilst I pottered about and finished a letter to a penpal he recuperated with endless mugs of tea :haha:

I thought we might be doing the painting tomorrow but Neil says we should get out for the day to the National Trust property at Wallington Hall if the weather isn't too bad.

We'll decide once we wake up tomorrow morning :biggrin1:

[gloria townsin]

Ah well...the best laid plans, as they say. By the way love the Avatar.

[Barbara]

We are having a late heat-wave here at the moment - high 30's - yuck! However, the vegie patch is producing lots of juicy tomatoes, rock melons (cantaloupes ?) and the pumpkins are starting fling their vines about in wild abandon. The chickens are laying well and Lachlan has just developed a love of scrambled eggs, so that is well timed.
I'm going to enjoy listening to all of you describing Spring as it arrives - I've always thought that the effect of spring must be so much more profound after the dormancy of a northern hemisphere winter - hope you all enjoy it.

:dance3:

[Gill Bilcliffe]

We certainly will be looking forward to the forthcoming spring Barbara especially after this long cold winter we have suffered! Highs of over 30 degrees for you ~ how wonderful but of course here in the UK we would all melt with those temperatures! But please can you post a little warm sunshine over here!

Regards
Gilly

[Kath Mulligan]

I'm going to enjoy listening to all of you describing Spring as it arrives - I've always thought that the effect of spring must be so much more profound after the dormancy of a northern hemisphere winter - hope you all enjoy it.

:dance3:

We shall be in raptures, Barbara, IF Spring ever arrives. There are some mini signs of it happening, daffodils now putting on a growth spurt although no flower heads as yet, and my forsythia is beginning to show some signs of coming to life again. We will take photos as and when it arrives of the spring flowers and blossom and post them on here for you to share. Hopefully when I go to Penzance next month the daffodils and violets will be out in Oliver Land and the magnolia and cherry blossoms in Morrab Gardens.

Kath

[jane jackson]

. By the way love the Avatar.
Yes that avatar is lovely. Going out to a NT property for the day sounds much more appealing to me than painting! I'm not keen on decorating ~ had to do too much at the B&B when Bryan couldn't see well enough to do it. Since his eye op in 2003 I've left it to him. Have a good day whatever you decide to do.

[gloria townsin]

Morrab Gardens should be lovely in a few weeks......leastways I hope so. Apparently no daffs at Bryher yet, odd as we had the couple through just around Christmas time and now nothing. Eddie said the Camellia is beautiful.........bet it will have gone over by the time I see it.

Please send us a bit of your sunshine Barbara........not the 30deg kind but just enough to make us feel we're through winter at last.

[jane jackson]

No magnolias out yet down here but hpoefully they will be just right for Memorial Weekend. I noticed the daffodils along the bypass are just bending their heads and a couple were in flower so they should look lovely very soon. The sea looked magnificent today, really sea-green with the sun sparkling on it too.

[Sybille Weber]

After snow on the weekend it was unusual to find temperatures rising to as much as 13 deg. at the beginning of the week, and as if the crocuses had just been waiting, there they suddenly were in our front garden, the yellow ones still closed, but one lilac-coloured crocus had already opened. We had another cold day of just 2 deg in the middle of the week, but since then it has been quite mild. Lovely sunshine and 12 deg. this morning, raining and 7 deg. now. The green tops of daffodils and tulips are now peeping out of the ground, and everywhere you come across snowdrops.
Funny spring should arrive here when you are hit by all this snow again, Linda. Normally Britain tends to be a little milder than the continent (infact some birds like starlings used to migrate to Britain in winter, although they are increasingly staying now.) Hope most of your snow has gone by now.

Also hope that it won't remain that hot for you for long, Barbara, but then you are almost nearing autumn now. Funny to think, here we are all together on this forum but we live in different seasons.

[gloria townsin]

It certainly gives a fun view on the world to hear how everyone is getting on climate wise. Sounds lovely in Cornwall Jane and pretty nice in Germany Sybille, we have to catch up soon in other UK areas.

[Linda]

well after not being able to get to work yesterday as our lane had in fact got 5 feet snow drifts! we managed to get out today with quite a bit of difficulty...Jeff spent yesterday digging the snow out of the lane...well tonight we got home and yes it started snowing...so we have white carpets everywhere again...we shall see what tomorrow brings! :) when we arrived home the snow was blowing horiontal ... so its possible there will be further drifts, Yikes! Needless to say our cats are in front of Rayburn and the wood fire...flaked out!

[Sybille Weber]

Poor you, Linda and Jeff. Thought the snow had perhaps started to melt during today, but there you are facing more snowfall, or rather a blizzard, if the snow was blowing horizontal. Hope it will soon clear up.

[gloria townsin]

Sorry to hear you are up to your eyes in it on Arran. It has to go soon surely. At least it's the weekend and you can kick back a bit and wait for it to melt.

[Barbara]

Five feet of snow sounds a bit much at this end of the season - the weather is really testing you this year, Linda. Hope it eases off soon.
Sybille, yes it is nearly autumn and that is without a doubt the best season of the year for me. We have days and days of beautiful clear blue skies, and while it remains fairly warm, we do not have the baking temperatures of summer. Of course, I love spring too, but autumn seems to have the most predictable weather.
I shouldn't complain, though, as we do enjoy a very temperate climate in general.

[Kath Mulligan]

Our autumn was considerably better than our summer last year, Barbara, certainly in September and October. After a very wet day here yesterday with heavy rain and wet snow all day long, this morning is dry and much brighter, so fingers crossed it stays that way for the weekend.

Linda, I can imagine Jeff's frustration at another heavy snowfall for you after he had spent the previous day digging a way through your lane. Let's hope this is winter's last fling. It really is time it went away and bothered someone else!!

Kath

[Linda]

well we have woken to brillian sunshine, a lovely respite after the previous few days! The su is rapidly melting the snow and it doesnt look as though we have snow drifts anywhere this morning..thank goodness! When we came home with coal etc yesterday and it started we just oh well we are home and we can be snug and warm! (for us its more of an excuse to be on the pc's!!...as if we need it eh?) :)
Apparently the forecast is set to improve and we shall have more sun and rain later but onward towards Spring seems to be the forecast! :)

[Brenda]

Just had to weigh in on this thread! Linda and Jeff - you poor folks! After a lovely prolonged mild spell, we have also had new snow recently. Over the last several days, there's been a very fine snow falling almost constantly. You think it doesn't look like much, but has it ever accumulated! We've had to be out shovelling every day - in case someone wanted to come by to buy some of the items we're selling, and especially to keep the walks cleared for the arrival of the movers in March. In fact, I should say that I've had to be out shovelling because Peter's back has been dodgy recently. I push it into piles as much as possible, and he clears those with the snowblower. But there are still the long front and back paths to do, as well as three decks and a set of steps. So now my back is a little tender. The advantage many of you have in the UK is that your new snow melts fairly quickly, while ours is here to stay for another six to eight weeks. In the area we're moving to, there has also been about a foot of new snow recently, but it has been melting almost as soon as it hits the ground.

[Linda]

we are also very lucky that oursnow doesnt normally accumulate into the kinds of drifts or depths of snow you encounter...I have been over to Canada in April and snow has been several feet high in places, whislt shopping malls cannot be seen for teh piles of snow pushed onto the car park areas to keep the roads clear. Although having said this I do think Canada somehow looks prettier than us in snow...just seems to be more like a warm ( ;) ) duvet! You just watch that back its only a week to go!!

[jane jackson]

Needless to say our cats are in front of Rayburn and the wood fire...flaked out!

Very sensible pussy cats!! Hope you have time to enjoy your snow and take more photos before digging yourselves out yet again.

[colleen]

Checked out the Minack webcam and its looks like the rain is really coming down.

[jane jackson]

I'm looking at your post now Colleen at 11.30am so if the time of 3 hours ago on your post is correct, it must have been very localised rain as it's been lovely here in the Newlyn end of PZ. We were walking down to The Prom at Wherrytown at 8am and it was great especially as we were expecting heavy rain and strong winds, although we were hoping this area would miss them and that's been the case thank goodness. The sea was like a millpond it was so calm.

Tracey you sound as though you're getting the wet weather so a book sounds like a good idea.

[gloria townsin]

Rain here in Herts, well this bit o f it. Glad Penzance was so clement.

[Kath Mulligan]

Grey but dry here so far. Hope the rain and gales continue to skirt around PZ Jane, sorry to hear that it is wet in Kent and Herts. Reading the papers this morning it sounds as though the south coast is going to get quite a battering from the tail end of Cyclone Cynthia, so hope none of you suffers any damage or flooding.

Just had a quick peek at the Minack website at 12.25 and it looks sunny and dry there at the moment with several lucky people wandering around.

Kath

[Gill Bilcliffe]

WET WET WET all day long here in Norwich plus I have delevoped a streaming cold so not the best of days :( Yet tomorrow the forecast here is dry and milder ~ hope so as this is proving to be such a long winter.

[Sybille Weber]

Gale force winds and torrential rain over Germany all day long. Many people killed. Train services shut down completely here in Northrhine-Westfalia, some motorways, too, and only a few planes arriving and departing. After 12 degr. this morning the temperature dropped down to just 3 in the early evening with the possibility of snow during the night. According to some weather experts, we may well get snow again and again until May! I don't hope so as our swifts usually arrive back at the end of April and they rely on insects in the air.

[adesmith]

Its been quite a pleasant day in South Wales and reasonably mild (I never wore a coat to church). Saw the terrible weather conditions on mainland Europe and all those poor people flooded in France. Its been quite a weekend with earthquakes in Chile, Tsunamis in the Pacific and the awful weather in Europe. I do hope that you dont have to endure any more snow Sybille! I am really hoping that we have seen the back of it and that March will see the arrival of spring proper!

[adesmith]

My cat just changed!

[gloria townsin]

Congrats on the new cat Adrian.

Wow that is terrible Sybille........your weather sounds appalling. Lena is due here, well to Jeff and Nina in Basingstoke on the 13th of March so I hope all is settled down by then. Rather as Derek reported so many times in the Chronicles the weather seems to have the final word in most things, some things never change.
Wishing better weather for everyone and Gilly, hope your cold is better soon.

[Liz]

Oh... well done Adrian!
I'm beginning to understand the changes/number of posts now but I have to say that I really love my little black cat and I'll be sorry to lose him.

[jane jackson]

I love the black cat too Liz and was sorry to lose mine ~ too much chatting! My present one is good too, Adrian's caught me up.

[jane jackson]

Gale force winds and torrential rain over Germany all day long. Many people killed..

We were very lucky in the UK as we thought we were going to have dreadful weather today but it seems to have missed us and landed on Europe. It sounds really awful in Germany from your description Sybille do hope it improves rapidly.

[gloria townsin]

The cats are fun though I do love my donk!! Linda and Jeff have chosen these brilliantly and when they first appeared we were all in shock!! Happily the forum has expanded hugely and we now have lots of lovely people to chat with.

[Kath Mulligan]

I love my donk too, but I was also very partial to the clever kitty on the computer keyboard and the lovely grey cat who rolls over.

Kath

[Barbara]

37 degrees here today - not impressed. However had a lovely swim in our friends pool. Lachlan convinced me to try the slide. He always zooms down it looking quite dashing so I thought I'd get into the spirit of things and give it a go. Well, there is obviously some technique involved that I don't know about because my entry into the water was more like a bag of potatoes being dropped from a moderate height. - gave everyone a good laugh, though.
I will definitely have to start chatting on here more as I have designs on that black cat.

[Kath Mulligan]

Oh Barbara, what a vision I had of you going down that slide! You had more courage than me, I have always been reluctant to jump or dive into water even though I can swim once I'm in there.

Good incentives to keep chatting, aren't they, those cats? Linda and Jeff knew what they were doing when they found those to tantalize us with.

Kath

[jane jackson]

Sounds ideal Barbara to enjoy a swim in those temperatures, you certainly had fun with the slide. I was never any good at diving and gave up trying rapidly as not at all keen on going in head first. I used to jump in happily as a child but nowadays I don't want to get my hair wet!!!!!!!!!! I haven't come across any slides for years apart from the flumes at leisure centres which I think are only for the kids, or at least that's what I tell myself.

[gloria townsin]

Jumping or worse falling into water are among the scariest things I can imagine........so well done, bag of potatoes or not. Will be nice to have the weather to tempt us to risk paddling!!

[adesmith]

I do miss my black cat but the grey one on the swing is rather sweet!

How nice to be able to enjoy the sunshine and have a swim. Although we have had a taste of spring we woke up to frosty cars this morning. Also the river went over the top of the banks and filled the fields at high tide this morning and this evening. I think that it is more to do with the tides than any rainfall because we havent had much in Wales. I was out in the garden yesterday and thought to myself not too many months and we will be sitting out in the garden enjoying the blazing sun of a long warm summer!

[Kath Mulligan]

I believe there are some very high spring tides due this week which is why there was so much concern about potential flooding with the heavy rain and strong winds that were forecast for southern districts over the weekend.

I do just love your optimism, Adrian, when you talk about sitting out in the garden enjoying the blazing sun of a long warm summer! I hope you are right.

Kath

[jane jackson]

So do I !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gloria townsin]

How's Ruperts C.P,? Hope he's almost over it with not too many sleepless nights.

[adesmith]

I think there must be special tides Kath because I saw the Severn Bore on the news. I was taken to see that very very early one morning years ago and it is very impessive. Rachel just told me that the river is up over the top again and it looks higher than it did yesterday. Its a bit difficult to see with it being dark. There really isnt much in it before the houses in the little estate on the flood plain would get flooded - I wouldnt feel happy living there.

Wouldnt it be lovely to have a long hot summer with lots of trips to the beach, bbqs and picnics. You never know, we are probably due one.

Thanks for asking Gloria. Rupert is much better and I think he escaped with only a minor case. Not too much disturbance (not that I ever wake up anyway!) for us at night either. I think he is glad to be back at Cherubs (playgroup) etc as he has really settled in there now.

[gloria townsin]

Pleased to hear Rupert has got over C.P, without too much trouble. The younger the better it seems.

[colleen]

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[jane jackson]

Spring has come to Glouscestershire then Colleen. It's beginning to feel a bit more like Spring here in PZ too although a very cold breeze but we do have a few daffs flowering now so that makes everything much more cheerful.

[jane jackson]

I'm glad Rupert has recovered so quickly Adrian and Rachel, at least he's got CP over and done with now.

[colleen]

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[Sybille Weber]

Yes, the same over here. Crocuses and snowdrops are now showing everywhere although we still get frost at night, even quite a bit of snow two days ago, although that melted as soon as it touched the ground. The birdsong is also increasing each day. Plants and birds seem to have decided it's spring. 5 degr. over here today, so still rather on the cool side, but it's a lovely sunny day, and you can feel the spring in the air. Seems I will miss part of this beautiful time of the year as there are several operations in store for me, and I will be in hospital for a while. Will have to go for an advance check next Monday. They will either keep me straight in or make an appointment for a few days later. So I should not be around for a while after that.

Back to the subject of spring flowers though - I noticed you say 'snow bells', Colleen, when so far I had only heard the word 'snowdrops'. Is there any difference between the two, maybe one is British English and the other American English? It just caught my eye as the German word is 'Schneeglöckchen' which actually translates as ' snow bells'. So I'm with you there, Colleen, although I have got used to 'snowdrops'. Both are nice expressions though. (Just as a matter of interest and to increase my knowledge of English. :))

[jane jackson]

Snowbells sounds rather descriptive and very pretty. I found out this week that the german word for bluebells is maiglockchen (haven't worked out how to get the dots on the O)! is that correct Sybille?

Sorry to hear you have more operations ahead of you Sybille, do hope all goes well and you're soon back home enjoying the Spring flowers and birdsong.

[colleen]

77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 77777777777777777777777777777

[gloria townsin]

I think it's the German for Butterfly that Nina told me which I find rather sweet. Snowbells is very cute.

Sybille I do wish you well again very, very soon, I hope your hospitalisation won't be for too long or be too arduous. Remember we will be thinking of you and wishing you back here with us. Another Ambrose Rock wish or two or three - probably more, will wing it's way to you. Tread the wild paths of Oliver Land and Cornwall in your dreams and we will keep your place warm and ready for you in this version of Minack and Cornwall in Cyberspace.

[Kath Mulligan]

Hurry back to us safely and soon Sybille. As Gloria says, many Ambrose Rock wishes will be made for you when we visit Oliver Land, just sorry we may not get the chance to actually speak to you from there this year, but maybe next year we will. Hope that all will go well for you and that you will soon be back home and on the mend.

Kath

[gloria townsin]

There's just one thing I miss on the forum and that is the icon telling us what the weather is doing in Penzance......or is it here and I've missed it?

[adesmith]

Best wishes for your hospital stay Sybille!

I believe that an old English name for Snow Drops is 'Candlemas Bells'. The ones that my father in law gave me in a pot are still flowering beautifully by our front door. The bulbs that I planted myself are a bit pathetic!

[jane jackson]

The snowdrop bulbs I planted in the autumn have all come up but only 2 have flowered so we'll have to be patient and hope they'll flower more next year, perhaps they're slow at maturing. We went to Trengwainton Garden this morning and the snowdrops are really beautiful now. There was one section of woodland with very unusal ones ~ the flowers were rounded in ridges like a lampshade with tiny pearl like drops on the end of each ridge. I took some photos with the latin name on a plaque so I'll upload them tomorrow, they were really lovely. Quite a few camellias and rhodies in bloom but not the magnolias yet.

[gloria townsin]

They sound interesting Jane........Nothing much else showing colour here. Maybe I'm being too hopeful - I think the earth needs to warm a bit. I hope the citrus tree has survived this winter, I wrapped it in bubble wrap but it's leaves look a bit on the dead side, although it was like this last year and recovered. So fingers crossed.

[Sybille Weber]

Thanks so much to everyone for their good wishes for my stay in hospital. They are very much appreciated. Hope to be back on here soon, but in case I won't be able to log on by the time Memorial Weekend arrives I'd better wish everyone who's going a great time now already.

Jane, as to your question about ''Maiglöckchen' - that's actually lily-of-the-valley, although the literal translation would be Maybells. As to the dots above the 'o', I guess you need a German keyboard in order to be able to do them, but you can overcome the problem by writing 'oe' instead which is pronounced in the same way. I'm thinking of a German word for bluebells but nothing comes up. I have so got used to just saying bluebells, and the dictionary doesn't give a German word for them.

But whatever flower, - snowdrops, crocuses, daffs -, we won't be seeing them for long now over here if the forecast is right: heavy snowfall forecast for Friday night and the weekend. They say our area will be under a thick white cover, especially because temperatures will go down to about -7 again, so no chance of the snow melting. Can't remember we ever had that much snow in March - but then, it is not yet here, and the weathermen have been wrong before. Fingers crossed.

[jane jackson]

Thanks Sybille, our German tutor must have remembered his flower names incorrectly! He takes the class( which is now a group so not so much emphasis on grammar but more on translating and learning about Germany and German life) free of charge just because he enjoys keeping up his German as he used to work over there for many years. Perhaps he didn't talk much about flowers!

[gloria townsin]

Germany seems to have been under a blanket of snow since before Christmas when Jeff and Nina were there. I hope the weathermen are wrong and you will soon see the flowers coming up Sybille. Until you are next able to chat here remember we are thinking of you and wishing you better soon. Masses of Ambrose Rock Good Wishes coming your way.

[Sybille Weber]

Thanks Sybille, our German tutor must have remembered his flower names incorrectly! ........

But then he cannot be blamed if even I, being German, cannot think of a German translation for bluebells.
Bluebells are actually not that widespread over here as in England. Some people say 'Glockenblume' (bell flower), but these look a little different.

[Barbara]

Best wishes from me too, Sybille. Look forward to your posts when you're back on deck.
I am enjoying listening to all of you talking about the emergence of the spring flowers - some lovely pictures come to mind. I'm determined to buy a lot of bulbs this year - it's something that I mean to do every year but never seem to get around to it.
On the subject of German - of which I know very little - I've found with my keyboard that I can do this ö by pressing the inverted comma button but not pushing the space bar before I press the o. Does that look like anything useful, Jane or Sybille?

[adesmith]

I hope that you dont get too much snow Sybille!

I think this year we are all a bit more aware of the spring flowers because of the harsh winter Barbara. It was a beautiful sunny day today but we had a very frosty start so winter hasnt quite gone yet. My daffodils are still not flowering in the garden yet and that does make them quite late. Definitely get some bulbs, its one of my favourite autumn jobs. I always plant up a few pots because you can move them around and make them more prominent when they are flowering.

[Barbara]

Just to let you all know that Spring proper is just around the corner - because I can feel a change in our weather. The last couple of days have been a pure delight with sunny days and temperatures in the mid 20's. The main change is that the mornings are becoming chilly and for the last two mornings I have had to put on something with long sleeves in the morning. This is great as it means that the really hot stuff is probably over and I can get out during the day and work in the garden without melting into a Barbara-shaped puddle.
:hippie:

[gloria townsin]

A top Cornish daffodil grower has told me his fields are bare of daffodils and they will be very late this year. So if his fields are bare no wonder our gardens are behind. Just the kind of thing that happened to Derek and Jeannie all the while, crops not materialising when they needed them ready then when they did appear there would be a glut. Their love of Minack was enormous or they would never have stuck so many dissapointments. Quite inspiring.

[jane jackson]

On the subject of German - of which I know very little - I've found with my keyboard that I can do this ö by pressing the inverted comma button but not pushing the space bar before I press the o. Does that look like anything useful, Jane or Sybille?

I'm not sure how you've managed that Barbara as I just get one after the other. By inverted comma do you mean the apostrophe? At the class it was suggested we google "keystrokes + german" but I've only looked briefly and not come up with anything that didn't involve downloading. I like to read things through before downloading anything just to make sure there're no hidden charges!

[Barbara]

Jane, I wasn't sure if I described it in the right way. They are the Little speech marks above the apostrophe - "like this" . When I use the speech marks with a vowel and don't make a space it automatically does it - ä ë ï ö ü - nifty, eh. - only works with vowels and it's not anything I downloaded so it must be a feature of the keyboard.

[Liz]

One of those interesting shortcuts Barbara which are hidden away in our keyboards - I often discover them by accident. There's the one which I accidentally press sometimes and the post I am writing just disappears, usually when I've written lots and am about to finish, or the one which posts the message before its complete! Very annoying, one day I'll discover which keys they are!

[Kath Mulligan]

One of those interesting shortcuts Barbara which are hidden away in our keyboards - I often discover them by accident. There's the one which I accidentally press sometimes and the post I am writing just disappears, usually when I've written lots and am about to finish, or the one which posts the message before its complete! Very annoying, one day I'll discover which keys they are!

Oh yes, I think we are all very familiar with those 'mystery' keys, Liz!

Kath

[Barbara]

Hi Liz,
That is funny! I discovered my little shortcut by mistake as well. Often if I try and type too fast I get ö instead of "o.... so when Jane and Sybille were discussing it I realised that I might have the solution. I'm constantly amazed at the sorts of things my very basic computer and keyboard have built into them. I'm sure it has made the difference with my becoming so adept at things so quickly.

[jane jackson]

I CAN'T DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:fie::typing: Can anyone else in the UK manage it?

Thanks Barbara for explaining but you must have a more efficient keyboard

[gloria townsin]

As Kath knows I hit a 'mystery' key the other day and it insisted on indenting my typing after that.........have still not worked out what happened or how to put it right ......... so it will have to stay that way, at least I can leave the document as it doesn't seem to have had any effect on anything else. I could ask Nina if she knows how to do it.........if she does I'll let you know Jane.

[Kath Mulligan]

I CAN'T DO IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:fie::typing: Can anyone else in the UK manage it?

Thanks Barbara for explaining but you must have a more efficient keyboard

Jane, I have been exploring and have found out how to do the umlauts (the little dots above the vowels). In a Word document when you get to the vowel that needs the umlaut, you select Insert from the Toolbar, then select Symbols and the umlauted vowels, in both upper and lower case, are there to choose from. I knew I had sussed it out years ago, but couldn't remember how to do it now, so it has been irritating me! Now I can sleep at night!

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Whoooo..........Kath to the rescue again. Kath were you ever in the Cavalry, 'cos they always arrive in the nick of time.........

[Kath Mulligan]

Whoooo..........Kath to the rescue again. Kath were you ever in the Cavalry, 'cos they always arrive in the nick of time.........

Hahaha, 'fraid not, Gloria! I was less successful in trying to solve the mystery of your indenting problem unfortunately. I typed in all sorts of questions into the Word Help section but nothing that came up seemed to fit the bill. If inspiration suddenly dawns in the middle of the night and I have a Eureka moment, I shall dash downstairs and type it up immediately before I forget again - but don't hold your breath!;)

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Aint these computerey things a joy.......'till they throw up a problem you can't solve!! Thanks for looking Kath but I have dumped that particular word doc and it can do it's own sorting!!