Midsummers Day - 24th June

[adesmith]

Couldnt let today pass without a comment. It has been a beautiful midsummers day in South Wales and we marked it with dinner in the garden. Rachel laid on a lavish summery salad feast and we even opened a bottle of wine (we only usually have wine at the weekends). Ice cream for pudding and coffee and creme de menthe to finish. We lit a small fire which is traditional. It was glorious and I even dug my ukulele out, which I havent been playing much recently.

Hope that everyone had a good day.

[jane jackson]

You and Rachel are very good with celebrating all the special occasions, glad you enjoyed your summery feast. We went with a friend to an Open Gardens at Gulval with the local Gardening Club. Started off at Churchtown Nursery who won a Gold at Chelsea this year. We were all asked to be particulary careful walking in the areas where the show plants are housed as even a slight bruising of the leaves by someone touching one too hard would cause it to be unsuitable to show and there next show is Hampton Court in July. We then continued on to 3 more private gardens which were all different in size and planting with lots of interesting flowering shrubs, trees and plants. It's always fun to go around other people's gardens and see how they've approached things. The owners at the final property provided tea/ coffee and cakes ~ lovely!

Have we heard about your ukulele playing before Adrian? Perhaps you could play for us at the next Memorial Weekend?

[Annette]

It was a gorgeous day here too, we celebrated the solstice on the 21st with a bottle of cornish champagne from the Camel Valley.

My Sister has been working at Gardeners World and bought some beautiful hostas for me.I love visiting other peoples gardens too. Must try and make time for our local ones next month.

[Kath Mulligan]

It was a lovely day here too so once again we dined out in the garden. Little bit more overcast yesterday although the sun did put in an appearance later in the afternoon and evening but beautiful again today. Hope it stays good for a while yet since Elizabeth is finishing work today for a well earned fortnight's break. Nothing specific planned but no doubt there will be trips out and about with the cameras. The Kinder Choir which both girls used to sing in are competing in the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen next Wednesday so might suggest that we head down there for the day. It's a fabulous day out, so much colour with lots of the singers and dancers in their national costumes, lots of interesting sidestalls and, usually, one selling the most divine homemade lemonade!!

We have another well dressing festival going on this weekend at Tideswell in the Peak District so we may well end up taking a picnic and going there tomorrow. No point in my suggesting going anywhere on Sunday since we shall be glued to the TV watching England probably lose to Germany!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend, whatever your plans.

Kath

[adesmith]

I am afraid that my ukulele playing might be somewhat of an anti climax at Memorial Weeked, Jane! I have had it a few years but I am very very basic. I can strum things like My Grandfather's Clock but that is the limit and I usually have to stop every so often to sort my fingers out. Its a relaxing diversion though. You never know, you may here strumming drifting across the gardens of Trengwainton in a months time.

Gosh Annette, that champagne sounds lovely. I am going to have to look out for that! I love Hostas as well. I have about 4 near the front door and huge one in a pot out the back.

Enjoy your well dressing Kath. Sounds like the good weather is going to be with us for a bit longer yet. Doubt I will watch the football. What time is it on? I am still marking exam papers, so I will do some tomorrow and then have the day off on Sunday (it will only be about 3-4 hours tomorrow). I am hoping to have finished by next Thursday.

Well, I went to the doctors this morning about my ongoing bp farce. I cant remember how much I said on here because I was quite upset but I stopped taking the other tablets about a month ago. The tiredness was too much and I simply felt that I couldnt cope. Rachel made an appointment but because it was an emergency appointment it was with a doctor we dont like. He is awful. He just told me to stop taking the tablets and implied that I was making the side effetcs up and that me taking the tablets in the first place was a knee jerk reaction. He told me to go back in two weeks but I didnt because I didnt want to see him again. Anyway my usual doctor was away so today was the earliest I could go back. He was great, really understanding and reassuring. I told him about the other doctor and he wasnt impressed. He has given me a different type of tablet and told me not to worry and that we will find one that suits. Because my bp has been high for so long and so consistently he said its not knee jerk and it needs treating. I agree and I actually trust him. So I have a new type to take tomorrow and its only a small dose, he called it an OAP does??? The best thing was that I had to make another appointment for a month but I had to make it a few days earlier because we will be in Cornwall - hooray!!!!

[Kath Mulligan]

I think the match is on about 3pm on Sunday, Adrian, so if you and Rachel fancy going out and about, you would probably find the roads fairly quiet! Saw a photo of the M5 near Bristol on Wednesday afternoon during the England game and it was almost deserted.

I'm glad to hear that your own GP is more sympathetic about the side effects of your BP medication and that he is trying you on a new type. Hopefully that one will suit you much better, but if it doesn't then there will be others that he can try you with. As I've said before, Vin tried several types before they found the one that best suited him. And hooray for you that in a month's time you will be in Cornwall - lucky you! Hope this good weather continues for you. I know we badly need some rain, but perhaps we could have it overnight, with warm sunshine during the day - that way we would have the best of both worlds and I wouldn't need to be going back and forth with heavy watering cans every evening! I have got a hosepipe but it seems to have played games with itself over the winter and despite being carefully wound onto its reel last autumn is now in a real tangle and I haven't managed to disentangle it all yet! I got so fed up with ripping fingernails and grazing my knuckles that I gave up in disgust and now use the watering can instead.

Kath

[tricia2ws]

:no:Have also got BP problems Adrian, it can take a while for you to find the right tablets to suit you, the doctor that told you your making up the symptoms is awful, it can make you feel really awful, i hope these new tablets work this time. My own problems are very odd, i've gone from having high blood pressure to extremely low BP, kept thinking i was going to pass out all the time, my tablets have now been stopped so it will be interesting to see what happens. tricia

[gloria townsin]

I must have been very lucky as I was given BP tablets a few years ago and have had no problems. I take Amlodopine. Please continue with your tablets Adrian, we had a friend who was prescribed BP tablets and threw them in a drawer and left it at that, he had a stroke and was fortunate to survive it, he was driving at the time just to make matters worse, on his own in his brand new Roller.......anyway he was left with speech problems but appeared to be picking up only to have a massive heart attack and this time he didn't survive, he was in his very early 60's so no age. I'm glad you have had a better meeting with your GP. Our youngest son is down in the dumps at present because he has disc problems and has been off work for weeks, well months, as his flat goes with the job he is understandably worried. He saw the specialist at long, long last on Wenesday and had less than 5 mins with him. He wasn't examined all the chap did was to look at the computer screen. I had wanted to go with him, as I would have sat there until my questions were answered but Matt is already feeling so rotten he just gave up asking and that was that. I suspect if Matt had been a private patient he would have been treated a bit different. - It's suddenly got dark and it's 10.10pm.............

[Kath Mulligan]

So, that's it for another four years! England tamely capitulate, even if they were denied a cast iron goal by the ref. Well done to Germany, worthy winners.

Kath

[Sybille Weber]

I wonder whether the outcome would have been different, if they hadn't been denied that second goal which clearly was a goal for them. This is also a psychological thing. I watched quite relaxed today though as I didn't mind really whether England or Germany would make it, although I found that, during the match I tended to be a little more on the English side. (Always a weak spot for England I suppose, even if the others are from my own country.)
Terribly noisy in the streets over here now. A group of football fans have just frightened off our three wood pigeons when they suddenly started to blow their 'vuvuzelas' and to shout and sing. Cars hooting everywhere, too.

[gloria townsin]

Didn't watch the match but if Germany played the better game then they deserved to win, you can't make excuses for bad performance unless there is a genuine reason and with the money they are paid there shouldn't be a good enough reason.

[Gill Bilcliffe]

The English players had a job to do in South Africa unfortunately they didn't reached their goal ~ literally. They should get out of the celebrity mode that the players and their wives adopt and concentrate on the job they are paid to do!!

[adesmith]

Thanks everyone for the advice and kind thoughts about my bp problems and tablets. You are a very supportive bunch! I have been taking the tablets since Saturday and so far no ill effects. I am very much of the mind that although I dont want to take medication, it is perhaps the most sensible and responsible thing to do. The doctor did say not to worry and that they would find something that I can take that wouldnt make me feel poorly. I thought of what you had said about Vin, Kath when the doctor said I might need to try a few. Thats awful about your friend Gloria but that is exactly the reason why I feel that I should do something about it. Hope that Matt gets some help soon. I always feel really inimidated when with the doctor and never ask the questions I should. Rachel nearly came with me last time. Tricia, it is funny that your bp went from being so high to so low. I have a friend at school and her bp is dangerously low. We often talk about our opposite problems!

[Kath Mulligan]

It's the supporters I feel most sorry for. You wouldn't mind spending all that money (well actually I would mind!) to see England beaten if they had played as well as they could and given their all to the cause, but as it was they simply rolled over and gave up trying. If I was a fan out there in South Africa I would be feeling pretty cheated right now.

Kath

[jane jackson]

I did watch part of the match as I'd come in hot and tired after being down by the harbour for the continuing Golowan festivities. I can't believe that football doesn't allow the use of technology to prove whether a goal is in fact a goal. There again England wouldn't have won even with that goal unless the pschological bit kicked in as Sybille said but the commentators seemed to think they were lucky to lose by 4 to 1 rather than far more. I don't know how you manage to watch, all you keen supporters as I get frustrated when they keep losing the ball to the opposition and I was only looking for a short time. I kept the TV on with no sound while I read my book just in case the score got interesting.

[gloria townsin]

Jane I bet you're whacked after all your running around.........you will be glad of a rest. One of the gardens we visited today had two collies just like your girls......one was very friendly. Always make me think about Saturday morning pictures when we used to see Lassie films, or flicks as we used to call them........common lot!!

[Gill Bilcliffe]

Saturday morning flicks what a noisy crowd we were well we were in Luton!! I imagine a nightmare for the staff at the "flicks" but weren't the films great!

[Kath Mulligan]

Gosh yes, Saturday morning flicks at the local 'fleapit' - what memories!! Trouble was they showed mostly Westerns to keep the boisterous lads happy and I have never been a cowboys and Indians fan!! It was a great place to meet up with your friends though, especially if it was wet.

Kath

[gloria townsin]

I felt so grown up when I was allowed to go with my friend Sylvia. As you say, noisy and lots of jumping around. It was the Odeon which is now more or less where our house selling agents are. I often look at those buildings and remember lining up with my friends. The other Rickmansworth cinema was right by a railway line and you can imagine there were lines obliterated when the trains went past, that was the official 'flea-pit' for us and everyone called it that. I remember passing on the bus on my way to Watford with my Mum and seeing the posters for Danny Kaye's 'Hans Christian Anderson'............now that's a long time ago.

[pauline]

Ah..Saturday morning pictures at the Odeon, Stamford Hill, North London and I can remember seeing Michael Rennie in the film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" as an alien who lands on earth. I think it was shown on T.V not so long ago and there has been a remake.

My school was a very large comp and one lunch time we all piled into the assembly hall to see "Great Expectations" with John Mills. (Don't tell everyone but it was 1958!) What happy times. :yes4:

[Kath Mulligan]

We were taken from school to the local cinema to see Laurence Olivier in Hamlet. The scene where Ophelia drowns is supposed to be really tragic and moving but it was so badly filmed that the whole cinema, including the staff, erupted in gales of laughter when she floated into view! Not quite the reaction the filmmakers anticipated I'm sure but it served its purpose because I will always remember that scene more than any other.

Pauline, I saw John Mills in Great Expectations too. What a superb actor. I shall never forget seeing him in Ryan's Daughter and not recognising him until half way through the film.

Kath

[adesmith]

I hope that you all realise that the exam papers that I am marking (finishing marking) are Sport, Leisure and Tourism and two of the questions are about flea pits, dream palaces and Saturday morning cinema. Well one one of them is about the Silent Movies but I am sure that none of you have experience of those ...

[adesmith]

I ducked when I posted that last reply!!!

[Kath Mulligan]

I ducked when I posted that last reply!!!

As well you might, Mr Smith!! Take one hundred lines ..... I must not be cheeky to senior forum members!!

Kath

[Linda]

these young whippersnappers!!

[gloria townsin]

Saw 'White Christmas' when it first came out with my Mum, Dad and sister. They were Bing fans, again I loved Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen and Rosie Clooney. But then I love musicals.
Saw a film with my friend Sylvia and her mum but I cannot remember what it was called other than the song 'Margie, I'm always thinking of you, Margie....' any ideas - she was an incompetant waitress I remember. Funny how I only remember that song and scene. I was probably about 7 when I saw it.
My London cousins were involved in theatre and I saw my older cousin in 'Desert Song'........."when I'm calling you'hoo'hoo'hoo'hoo'oo'oo"........... I loved it.
Their aunt was in an adagio act and I saw her at the Hackney Empire with her husband and the other part of the trio - they were throwing her around and she jumped off a high bit of props - I was about three at the time and went backstage after, I only have fleeting memories of this though. Years later they had a B&B in Blackpool in South Shore which was mainly for the show people performing that summer. Benny Hill was a regular guest.

[jane jackson]

I think I missed out on something there as our school had a rule which meant we weren't allowed to go to the cinema in term term so they showed films in the school hall on a saturday afternoon instead. There was an exception once for some particular week ~ can't remember what now but we were allowed to go to see "Ben Hurr" and "Spartacus" at the Rex in Berkhamsted. I always did like Charlton Heston and Kirk Douglas ~ always went for the older man! I loved cowboys and indians Kath and there used to be a half hour one each weekday on TV timed for when I got home from school: Cisco Kid; Hopalong Cassidy; Wyatt Earp; Bronco Lane; Lone Ranger and then we get on to the horsey ones: Fury; Champion the Wonder Horse; My Friend Flicka. Maybe it was the horses that I liked the Westerns for?

Yes Gloria I was whacked and still am a bit. We were on The Prom at 8am to see the French sailing boats come in but with hardly any wind they were a long way out and didn't arrive until 9.45am in the end. By which time we'd taken the dogs to Porth Kidney beach as Bryan needed those small milk pots from Bookers for the NCI tower. Back to Newlyn to see the boats and walked the length of one quay to find we were on the wrong one so ended up walking up to the Red Lion where we could look down on them but of course they no longer had their sails up so not really worth the walk and then we had to walk back to where we'd parked the car on the PZ side of Newlyn ~ I was hot and bothered by then and still had ironing to do when I got home. We did have a few tiny showers which were lovely to walk out in but didn't do much for the garden.

[Kath Mulligan]

We had quite heavy rain last night and overnight which my garden really needed. It's dried up now but cloudy and cooler. Hopefully the sun will return tomorrow for our trip to Llangollen.

Re Westerns, Jane, I did make an exception for Bronco Lane cos I had a huge crush on Ty Hardin, and similarly Laramie because I fancied the actor who played Jess Harper (can't remember his real name!!).

Kath

[pauline]

I hope that you all realise that the exam papers that I am marking (finishing marking) ...

Oh! Adrian, have been keeping quiet but now see you are close to finishing the marking. Did you not pick up on my thought waves: "Don't do it Adrian"?

My neighbour, a retired teacher, signed up for the exam marking last year and had to miss out on so many other things as she was always shut away marking the papers and told me that there are 3 papers to one answer to mark, so 10 children provided 30 papers! Very exhausting when there's a deadline to keep.
She said "never again". The money was tempting but the workload taxing.

Well done anyway, but will you do it again next year, all things considered?

[gloria townsin]

Loved the TV cowboy programmes.......used to think how wonderful to gallop away for miles and miles. Champion - how wonderful was he? My sister loved The Cisco Kid and his sidekick Pancho...........I'm sure these programmes kicked off my interest in horses. We had an American girl for a term or two at our junior school and all I wanted to know was if she had met Roy Rogers.......as if!! But to me to be American meant you had the Wild West at your front door and you rode everywhere, I was very unworldly as you can tell. Quite dissapointing when I found she hadn't met him!!

[Janet Swan]

We had quite heavy rain last night and overnight which my garden really needed. It's dried up now but cloudy and cooler. Hopefully the sun will return tomorrow for our trip to Llangollen.

Re Westerns, Jane, I did make an exception for Bronco Lane cos I had a huge crush on Ty Hardin, and similarly Laramie because I fancied the actor who played Jess Harper (can't remember his real name!!).

Kath

So did I - had crushes on TV cowboys! Bronco Lane, Laramie, Champion the Wonder Horse, Little House on the Prairie - not so keen on Lone Ranger although quite liked Tonto!!!

Janet

[Janet Swan]

I hope that you all realise that the exam papers that I am marking (finishing marking) are Sport, Leisure and Tourism and two of the questions are about flea pits, dream palaces and Saturday morning cinema. Well one one of them is about the Silent Movies but I am sure that none of you have experience of those ...

Saturday morning cinema - oh the memories! I so remember 'Bambi' and another about a pink elephant? Also the early Walt Disney movies - 'Snow White' etc.

Janet

[Kath Mulligan]

Saturday morning cinema - oh the memories! I so remember 'Bambi' and another about a pink elephant? Also the early Walt Disney movies - 'Snow White' etc.

Janet

Would the pink elephant be Dumbo, Janet?

Vin and I went to see Bambi when we were courting and I think we were the only adults in the cinema who didn't have accompanying children!!! But I loved it, and I cried when Bambi's mother died.

Kath

[tricia2ws]

It could have been fantasia, that had pink elephants, dumbo's a grey little fella. I remember going to our local cimema when i was younger with my mum and sisters, I love all the good ole films, gene kelly, fred astaire, grace kelly. my dad loved westerns(good ole john wayne) and war films. and you sure can't beat a musical. so many to choose from. x tricia

[Linda]

two favs are James Stewart and Cary Grant....Jimmy didnt do bad westerns....
the guy in Laramie...swoon!!!!

John Wayne westerns yes love them too...
Bambi is one of my all time favs....I cry so much when his Mum dies...horrid!

[Gill Bilcliffe]

On the subject of cowboy films classic Elvis in his first film "Love Me Tender." If I remember rightly the film was an A therefore I had to be accompanied by an adult. Of course my Mother came along with me on the pretence of escorting me but secretly she was an Elvis fan also. But when he was killed off in the film I was devastated! The next Elvis film "Loving You" Mum and I went along yet again. Mum loved the title song which was soon added to my collection and I charged 3d each time she asked to hear it! I still have the 78 record along with a few more by Elvis.

When seeing Calamity Jane with Doris Day I was then Jane for the next few months! What a great film that was!

[Kath Mulligan]

Isn't it amazing how one chance comment about Saturday morning cinema has triggered off so many memories? That is the beauty of this forum, we have proper conversations that meander all over the place, just like a normal, face-to-face conversation would do.

Sorry Linda, John Wayne did nothing for me, but coming ever so slightly more up to date, how about Steve McQueen!!!! He could have had me any which way he liked!!! (TMI, sorry!). I must have gone to the cinema to see The Great Escape at least a dozen times and always watch it if it comes up on TV. Funny, I never went for the rebellious type of lad in reality, but in films it was different.

Gill, I wasn't a huge Elvis fan but I do remember going with my friends to see Blue Hawaii and falling in love with that song - "this is the moment I've waited for etc" when he was getting married. I decided there and then that I would have that song played at my wedding - fortunately for Vin, by the time I did actually get married I had changed my mind! I think I may have been jilted at the altar if I had insisted on having that. :biggrin:

Kath

[gloria townsin]

Kath.........now it all comes out........... Oddly enough I didn't go much on Elvis until he died..........now I find I like many of his songs, I think it must be nostalgia for that time in my life that makes it all so much better now. My cousin bought me 'Heartbreak Hotel' when it first came out, wish I knew where it was now. I also had the first recording of 'Rock Around the Clock' and my next door friend's older brother played it on an old wind-up gramaphone on Christmas Morning as I had it as a Christmas present.
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire...........now you're talking!! What amazing dancers. Loved 'The Enchanted Cottage'.......in fact old black and white films have a certain something about them.

[jane jackson]

Sorry Linda, John Wayne did nothing for me, Kath

Kath ! ~ John Wayne was wonderful. Loved him in Hatari too. I was never a particular fan of Elvis never buying his records but I did enjoy his films, the sun always seemed to be shining in them with lots of blue sea in the background.

I also had a 78 of Rock Around the Clock which I played on my grandmother's wind up gramaphone. I only sold the gramaphone before moving here 4 years ago. It had stayed in the attic all the time we were on Exmoor and we really didn't have room here to have it out so not a lot of point in keeping it. I did record some of my old favourite records though on to cassette. Loved The Desert Song too, went to see that with my Mum & Dad for one of their anniversaries with John Hanson. It was a show along with The Student Prince that my Mum had seen and loved years before and she was so happy that it was in the West End again.

[Janet Swan]

Yes, I finally remembered the name 'Dumbo' - and, of course, he was grey but I think the insides of his ears were pink!!!

As for Elvis, I wasn't a great fan either, but every time I hear the version of 'Are you lonesome tonight' when he gets the giggles - well, it makes me giggle too!!! In the last year or so there have been some interesting television programmes about him, and, yes, he was truly gorgeous when a young man and, yes, he did have a wonderful voice.

As for Kath's comment about Steve McQueen - well, I never knew you were that sort of girl, Kath!!! Your reputation will soon be catching up to mine!!!

Janet

[Kath Mulligan]

As for Kath's comment about Steve McQueen - well, I never knew you were that sort of girl, Kath!!! Your reputation will soon be catching up to mine!!!

Janet

I wasn't really that sort of girl Janet, it was just wishful thinking on my teenage part!!! Oh happy dreams!

Kath