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Walking wounded at the moment - yesterday morning, I failed to lock into position one of the flaps on the tail lift of my truck so, with perfect timing, the bloody thing tried to fold itself flat again and found my bare shin in the way!
I'm not so bothered about the large scrape, it's the bruising that's causing me the most discomfort.
Weatherwise, it's not too bad here - other than a short, torrential downpour in the early hours of yesterday morning (just as I was about to go out to connect up my truck and trailer so I had a coffee and waited for it to stop), we've just had the occasional few drops of rain despite dark clouds seeming to threaten worse. We are now alternating between dark clouds and bright sunshine.
Dinner today will be a king prawn and scallop risotto, which I'm just about to make a start on :)
I'm not so bothered about the large scrape, it's the bruising that's causing me the most discomfort.
Weatherwise, it's not too bad here - other than a short, torrential downpour in the early hours of yesterday morning (just as I was about to go out to connect up my truck and trailer so I had a coffee and waited for it to stop), we've just had the occasional few drops of rain despite dark clouds seeming to threaten worse. We are now alternating between dark clouds and bright sunshine.
Dinner today will be a king prawn and scallop risotto, which I'm just about to make a start on :)
Yeah, we already knew that Poynton was going to be in even bigger trouble with the water in the already badly flooded areas steadily rising all evening and last night - and, sadly, sure enough it was and still is. This poor couple think that they might have lost everything? - but the Emergency Services won't let them try to go back to their House just yet to see just how bad it all is as they think that the Road beneath the 4 feet of flood water has collapsed ;o<
Grizzlygrump wrote: "Walking wounded at the moment - yesterday morning, I failed to lock into position one of the flaps on the tail lift of my truck so, with perfect timing, the bloody thing tried to fold itself flat a..."Oooh? - that sounds very painful, Poppet! ... x
I've always wanted to try Scallops but still haven't got around to doing so yet ;o>
It's so nice to see people pulling together at times like these to offer what help they can - reminds you that not all people are selfish :)
YES!!
At last, I have just managed to get her new collar onto Phoebe - caught her unawares while she was dozing on top of a wicker basket in front of the patio doors, her favourite sunbathing spot.
I'm now receiving looks which are alternating between "poor me" and "you're going to regret that!" :)
At last, I have just managed to get her new collar onto Phoebe - caught her unawares while she was dozing on top of a wicker basket in front of the patio doors, her favourite sunbathing spot.
I'm now receiving looks which are alternating between "poor me" and "you're going to regret that!" :)
Grizzlygrump wrote: "It's so nice to see people pulling together at times like these to offer what help they can - reminds you that not all people are selfish :)"It certainly is. There are Photos on Facebook of a local Lad taking considerably huge risks to himself by wading into rapidly swirling and rising tidal water up beyond his waist while his Dad helps alongside with a small Digger - just so that they can manually shift all of the debris that keeps on creating a dam effect under a Bridge in Poynton. They've done it three times now and it has had the immediate effect each time of releasing and significantly reducing the flood waters in that area and, by doing so, actively helped to prevent a large number of nearby Houses from being flooded.
There are some truly wonderful folk out there today all pulling together to assist in the rescue of others, offering up help to salvage and store any saveable possessions and all forming lines with Buckets to bale out flooded Homes. I just wish that I still had it in me to be able to go and lend a Hand.
The nightmare with Poynton being flooded like this is that it is built over many miles of unfilled Coal Mine Shafts which is why all of the Emergency Services are declaring it to be an extremely dangerous situation and a Major Incident Area. There is a very real possibility that surface areas could collapse and sinkholes could suddenly form and swallow up entire Housing Estates! ;oO
Grizzlygrump wrote: "YES!! At last, I have just managed to get her new collar onto Phoebe - caught her unawares while she was dozing on top of a wicker basket in front of the patio doors, her favourite sunbathing spo..."
Ohhh Phoebe!!! ... what has your naughty 'Daddy' been doing to you?!! ;oO
You are going to end up giving that poor little Kitty-Cat panic attacks about daring to fall asleep while you are around in future! - LOL!!! ;o>
She's getting her own back - as I walk back and forth to check how dinner is doing, Phoebe is wending her way between my legs and, deliberately, I think, rubbing against the scrape on my shin which is at just the right height.
Awww, she really does absolutely adore you, you know ;o>
Ohhh joy of joys! - it's just started heavily flippin' raining AGAIN! ;oOI'm SO very glad that we are safely up on higher ground here as our nearest Main Road was still covered in a couple of inches of Water first thing this morning and we've also got some flooding happening in the lower areas of our Village where the River burst it's Banks in several places over the last few days and has repeatedly spilled over into the nearby residential Side Roads.
Moo and Tee still want to know why our House now smells of Cats?!! - LOL!!! ;o>
Still no rain here......*pants*This isn't normal.....it's Wales, ffs?!
This might be Greater Manchester but this isn't normal here either! ...
... https://www.manchestereveningnews.co....
It's a lovely dry and sunny day here thankfully today - and I don't think that the much lighter and more occasional rainfall yesterday evening and overnight did any further harm?So many incredibly generous and utterly wonderful folk are off out and about volunteering themselves for essential food and supplies deliveries plus the much-needed clean-up crews and support services - and many have even taken time off work to be available to those in need.
It's at times like these I feel even more disabled and useless and frustrated by my own incapacity - having to acknowledge and accept that I'd be far more of a liability than of any real use if I tried to join in with helping out. I feel SO overwhelming grateful for my dry clean Home today and SO sorry for all those who have lost almost everything but the things that they could grab together and the clothes still on their backs.
Mr and Mrs C (the elderly couple who are staying with us) have just been taken by one of our Neighbours to go and see what has happened to their House - and poor Mrs C has been in tears all morning because she doesn't really want to go and see. She is scared that it will all just be too much for her to bear if they have lost all of the things that matter the most to them both.
It just completely breaks your Heart seeing these two amazing almost ninety year olds trying so incredibly hard to be so brave and so positive - and to know that they may never get to go back and live in their own dearly-loved Home ever again because of this now ;o<
Mrs C has already asked us, if the worst comes to the worst, we might possibly consider permanently taking on their beloved and precious Cats. M&D haven't said anything but I can tell that they aren't exactly all that keen on the idea. However I think that we could work something out between us all? If they do find out that they have to give them up then, of course, it goes without saying that we will keep them here with us. They are so very sweet and so shy and quiet and there is absolutely no way that I'm ever letting them be taken off to an Animal Sanctuary.
Hello folks......yet another bright dry sunny warm day..and still no sign of any clouds...again!
Just been reading up about the damaged Whaley Bridge dam in Derbyshire, that could give way any time. All the locals below it have been evacuated, while emergency services desperately try to shore it up, and drain the reservior as fast as they can. It has 1.3 trillion litres of water in it after the recent downpours.
It's an old dam...built in the early 19th century apparently. If you've not seen the news footage..here's what it looks like at the mo..
I feel awful saying it but I'm SO glad it's about 12 miles away from us! ;oOIt's becoming a real race against time to try and stop it from giving way - and everyone here is not only cleaning-up and assessing all of the current damage but also trying to prepare and brace themselves for the Forecast of yet even more heavy rainfall on Sunday!
And it's going to cost the National Trust a fortune to try to restore the beautiful landscaped Gardens that were washed away in the floods the other day at Lyme Park.
suzysunshine7 wrote: "I feel awful saying it but I'm SO glad it's about 12 miles away from us! ;oOIt's becoming a real race against time to try and stop it from giving way - and everyone here is not only cleaning-up a..."
It doesn't look very substantial does it? Those concrete 'panels' are very thin...but if it managed to survive like that for nearly 200 years...then it must have been sufiently built. Then again, it might have weakened with age. It was only when the reservior overflowed down the concrete spillway, that damage occured.
I gather Edwina Currie has a house above the reservior, it seems.
All this extreme weather seems bizarre to me....here in ever sunny Pembrokeshire, we've had nothing but blue skies and heat, for 2 months now!
But as the old proverb goes; "Be careful what one wishes for" - but gee, us South west welsh lot could really do with 'some' of that H20 here, badly. The ground here in my garden has gone rock solid hard.
I've been looking into various types of supported Housing and came across a small complex of beautiful Ground Floor Flats with disabled access a couple of months ago that I had made a note of for following up on ... and I've just recognised a Photo of one of them on Facebook with a Mud Tidemark all around the open plan Kitchen & Lounge that almost reaches the Ceiling! ;oO
theDuke wrote: "As the old proverb goes; "Be careful what one wishes for" - but gee, us South west welsh lot could really do with 'some' of that H20 here, badly. The ground here in my garden has gone rock hard solid"I wish we could just flick a Switch and divert such torrents of Flood Waters through a Pipeline to elsewhere - places where they really would benefit from a far more gentle and controlled release of our excess Water.
suzysunshine7 wrote: "theDuke wrote: "suzysunshine7 wrote: "I feel awful saying it but I'm SO glad it's about 12 miles away from us! ;oOIt's becoming a real race against time to try and stop it from giving way - and e..."
Sign of things to come, i dare say Suzy. This century has shown already how fast the weather has changed in such a short time. These sort of freak weather occurances, could well become the norm in future years. Scary stuff.
You often sadly see these things happening on TV and invariably thank the Heavens or your lucky stars that you are fortunate enough to live elsewhere in an area where such terrible situations rarely ever happen ... and then, all of a sudden, it does! ... and you simply can't shut-out or hide away from the awful reality anymore that this poor Planet desperately needs supporting and saving from the Species that has done it the most devastating and destructive harm of all ... us! ;oO
A brief and cryptic Text on my Mobile from my Neighbour who has kindly taken Mr & Mrs C back to Poynton to see if they can gain access to the Home today to assess the damage ... "not all bad but not good" ... ?I think I'd better go get the Whiskey Bottle out and set up ready for some very liberally-laced and extra strong Irish Coffees on their return.
suzysunshine7 wrote: "A brief and cryptic Text on my Mobile from my Neighbour who has kindly taken Mr & Mrs C back to Poynton to see if they can gain access to the Home today to assess the damage ... "not all bad but no..."And a spare room to sleep in perhaps, Suzy? Or hve they found other temporary accomodation?
How did you find out about them, Suzy? Did the police or Social Services go round asking for help?
I think that they will probably continue staying with us for now, Duke? - as they don't have any family that they can ask for help.I think it probably means what we have been very gently trying to explain to them - that it could easily now take several months to a year (or even two) before work can start on trying to restore the Bungalow into being a habitable Home for them again. And the devastating reality of it is that, at their age, they haven't really got the strength, energy and spirit, or sadly all that much time left in their lives to take on such a massive task and to live long enough to see it all through.
I think it maybe that it will come to a decision to sell-up at a loss and move on into Sheltered Housing instead (where the Cats may sadly not be permitted) - and they are obviously SO desperate for it not to be so ;o<
But, I'm only speculating? - and so we shall have to see what they say when they get back.
Lez wrote: "How did you find out about them, Suzy? Did the police or Social Services go round asking for help?"I volunteered us for accommodation because we have a Spare Room, Lez.
It's all so terribly sad, specially at their time of life.
It is, Lez, but I think that they have still got some options open to them and need to have lots of discussions with lots of different people first. My Mum's best friend is married to a semi-retired Carpenter and Builder - and he has kindly agreed to go and take a good look around the Bungalow tomorrow and then give us his (free) honest and trusted opinion on it ;o>
Good Morning........here is the weather report for South West Pembrokeshire...........it is raining this morning.........YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHAAAAHHHHHOOOOOWEEEE!!!
Rain.....i'd almost forgotten what it was like! :)
Our eldest has just decided to let us know he brought a girl home with him last night, well, in the early hours... and I been swanning around in me bathrobe and boxers all morning without a clue!!! Coulda been a tad embarrassing. : )
Make sure that you always wear novelty (but not naughty!) Boxers, Blastro ... as a really good laugh will always help to break through any embarrassment and awkwardness if you unexpectedly bump into 'guests' you didn't know you had in the House ;o>
I went into work one morning and an ex boss was standing stark naked at the end of the passage upstairs ,luckily some distance from me ,I said good morning and hot footed it into the beasties.
Family are used to me pottering around the house or garden in just a pair of shorts, especially in this hot weather, though I will put on a t-shirt if we are expecting guests :)
Supposed to be working tonight, but as I have already clocked up the maximum 60 hours this week, they've had to let me have the night off :)
Supposed to be working tonight, but as I have already clocked up the maximum 60 hours this week, they've had to let me have the night off :)
Oh just keeps getting better! Just been clipping the hedge at the top and muggins here cut through the 'lecce cable! Did a cowboy patch-up on said cable and upon resuming clipping - POP-FIZZ - it goes for the second time! Patched it up AGAIN and now it looks like I've blown the fuse in the extension cable; a fuse it don't look like we have spare. The hedge is cut to half way along and looks bloody ridiculous. Gonna be one of those days I reckon. Thank God for trip-switches is all I can say. If not for said safety feature I'd be a bunch of embers blowing through the hedge!!! : )
Blastronaut Mk2 wrote: "Oh just keeps getting better! Just been clipping the hedge at the top and muggins here cut through the 'lecce cable! Did a cowboy patch-up on said cable and upon resuming clipping - POP-FIZZ - it g..."I used to do that with my old corded hedge trimmer, yonks ago, Blastro.
In the end, i plumped for a new battery powered one...mainly cos the cord on the old one had been 'repaired' so many times.....that it ended up barely nothing more than a plug, with a 2 inch cord!
Battery powered ones does away with worrying about keeping the cord out of the way....but the new one is heavier to hold up.
I know that I should be making all the right comments full of concern and understanding - but to be honest with you, I'm just SO glad that other folk also have these kinds of days as well and that it isn't just me that does! - LOL!!! ;o>Maybe someone will come along and nominate your half-finished Hedge with the still-smoking Hedge Trimmer wedged in it as an Art Installation for the next Turner Prize, Blastro? ... ! ;o>
Grizzlygrump wrote: "Supposed to be working tonight, but as I have already clocked up the maximum 60 hours this week, they've had to let me have the night off :)"YAYYY!!! ... you can dedicate your free time to hosting a BBQ for us all!!! ;o>
theDuke wrote: "I used to do with my old hedge trimmer, yonks ago, Blastro.In the end, i plumped for a new battery powered one...mainly cos the cord on the old one had been 'repaired' so many times.....that it barely nothing more than a plug, with a 2 inch cord!
Battery powered ones does away with worrying about keeping the cord out of the way....but the new one is heavier to hold up"
Plugged into the Mains?!! ... Battery-powered?!! ... my 79 year old Mum still uses good old-fashioned Long Handled Loppers for all of our Hedges! ... and has developed big bulging Biceps over the years that Popeye could only ever begin to dream about having!!! - LOL!!! ;o>
I definitely want to hire this pair of Gardeners! ;o> ...
Hey Helen, did you see this? ;o> ..."Large clouds of painted lady butterflies are being spotted across the UK and Ireland - and experts believe we are seeing a mass emergence that happens every 10 years.
Weather conditions and food sources are providing ideal conditions for the species to thrive.
Sightings of painted ladies - otherwise known as Vanessa cardui - have prompted countless pictures and videos to be posted to social media.
About 11 million of the butterflies were seen in the UK during the last "painted lady year" in 2009" ...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...
Yummy Veggie Pizzas all round for a late Brunch today and I've now got a lovely big piece of Silverside pot-roasting in the Oven to serve up with Broccoli & Cauliflower Cheese, Carrots, Peas & Sweetcorn, Runner Beans fresh-picked from out of the Garden, and some McCain Roasties ... Mmmmmmmm!!! ;o>
We made do with a fish pie I made (two more went into the freezer) served with peas, carrots and button chestnut mushrooms :)
Have you still got two cats hidden away from Tee and Moo in your room?
Have you still got two cats hidden away from Tee and Moo in your room?
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And once again ... that Professional Compost Bag 80L for all potting needs
I have to admit though that I am feeling very tempted indeed right now into buying myself a Plush Funny Bunny Hat with the Moving Ears! ;o> ...
It says you just squeeze the Paws to make the Ears stand up! ;o>
Grizzlygrump wrote: "We made do with a fish pie I made (two more went into the freezer) served with peas, carrots and button chestnut mushrooms :)Have you still got two cats hidden away from Tee and Moo in your room?"
Cats? ... (*MEOW?!* ... SHHHHH!!!*) ... No, I've got no Cats in my Room? ;o>
Oooh? - now there's a thought?!! ;o> ...
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Hey Helen, did you see this? ;o> ..."Large clouds of painted lady butterflies are being spotted across the UK and Ireland - and experts believe we are seeing a mass emergence..."
Yes, thanks suzy, have seen it. It was predicted to be a "mass migration" year, but I'm not sure how many of them will make it this far north.
Been getting lots of giant moths (Lez!) & spiders coming into the house at the mo with having the windows open so much. Still no torrential rain up here.
Amazon exiles
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M&D are off out to see if they can get through the Roads to a Supermarket so that we can get stocked up with lots of extra essentials. We also need Cat Food for two Cats ... both of which are currently fast asleep on my Bed at the moment with their bellies full of Tuna in Spring-water!
Moo and Tee clearly have got their suspicions that we might possibly have got furry guests staying upstairs and so there have been lots of woofetty mutterings and quizzical facial expressions going on between them both for the last couple of hours ... HA HA HA HA HA!!! ;o>