Where in the World are you from?

[Rachel]

Helen wrote: "Come and live in my spare room Rachel! My daughter is going over to Northern Ireland in June with uni friends."

haha dont tempt me, i cant wait to get out of here, hopefully moving to sheffield for uni (if i get the grades)

[Timothy]

Hi Bookbee,
welcome, I might live in the dust bowl of Norfolk but I have friends in Livingstone, an old army mate in Ladywell, I've seen in the bells a few times there!!
I also have a friend on a gardening web site who hails from Livingstone. I normally write trillers but my latest is a grow your own gardening book, my publishers idea.
All the best Paul Rix [oldgeezer]

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel]

I was going to de-weed my gravel drive today - but we have a quite an unusual activity going on outside and there are splatters of wet stuff on the windows and even some puddles of the stuff too,

Weather watch here in North Dorset Lady Squirrel reporting.

P.S I think you mean Thrillers don't you Paul!

[Timothy]

Hi Lynne, yes those as well!! senior moment! again!
all the best Paul Rix [oldgeezer]

[Helen]

I was imagining little birds trilling through the text!
We're having half rain half sun today!

[Liz, Moderator]

Helen wrote: "Come and live in my spare room Rachel! My daughter is going over to Northern Ireland in June with uni friends."

Almost fell out of my chair then! Helen, you do not look old enough to have an uni-age daughter!!!!!

(And I like the sound of trillers, Paul. A newly discovered sub-genre perhaps? About budgies that solve crime...) ;)

[Timothy]

guess I'm not going to be allowed to forget that one!!
all I can say is read 'The Day the Ravens Died' and 'tweet' about it!
all the best Paul Rix [oldgeezer]

[Ian, Moderator]

Cold, wet, windy - perfect setting for an Oirish triller Paul

[Helen]

Liz, you are lovely. She is 20 in August.

[Susan]

Liz....I thought the same!....Helen....what's your secret of eternal youth?

[Ian, Moderator]

It's all the Manc rain - lol

[Laura]

Rachel wrote: "Helen wrote: "Come and live in my spare room Rachel! My daughter is going over to Northern Ireland in June with uni friends."

haha dont tempt me, i cant wait to get out of here, hopefully moving..."

I went to Sheffield Uni and absolutely loved it, I still visit a few times a year, wish I was still living in Sheffield :-) What are you hoping to study?

[Helen]

Flattery! I do like sleeping perhaps that helps. Or perhaps there is a secret benefit to eating chocolate.

[Helen]

Ok, I confess, I met this vampire while sheltering from the rain ...

[Rachel]

Laura wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Helen wrote: "Come and live in my spare room Rachel! My daughter is going over to Northern Ireland in June with uni friends."

haha dont tempt me, i cant wait to get out of here, hop..."

criminology hopefully, im doing my exams at the minute, they are a nightmare! i find out at the end of june if ive got in!

what did you study?

[Stuart]

I am in Newtongrange which has as it's claim to fame Scotland's mining museum. It is well worth the visit as the museum is built around a former mine and former miners take you on guided tours.

[Timothy]

Hi,
shock news! we actually had three, yes 3! heavy showers today, The soil is still very dry but at least it has stopped the dust blowing about.
My eldest grand daughter lives in Sheffield, she's nearly 23!! and Craig, my oldest grandson is 20!!and will soon be a dad!, Becky is a mum so that makes me a great grand dad before I'm a pensioner!! eeck! I'll have to nick the wifes zimmer frame!!

And as for Ians' idea of an 'Oirish' thriller, my first published book 'RO' starts off in a South Armargh hedge row!
All the best Paul Rix [oldgeezer]

[Ian, Moderator]

Paul - I now have you pictured as Henry Fonda in the Grapes of Wrath travelling the dustbowls of Norfolk

[Timothy]

Hi Ian,
hate to dissapoint you but it has rained at last, we need some more but hey it is nice and moist over an inch into the soil. At last!! a few more days like today then stuff [weeds] should start to grow.
all the best Paul Rix [oldgeezer]

[Ian, Moderator]

Timothy wrote: "Hi Ian,
hate to dissapoint you but it has rained at last, we need some more but hey it is nice and moist over an inch into the soil. At last!! a few more days like today then stuff [weeds] ..."

Shows the power of negative thinking

[Helen]

We have weeks of rain and my soil still stays mainly dry - sandy stuff.

[Ian]

Hi

I'm originally from Louth in Lincolnshire. I am now in Lincoln. Having had a service up-bringing and spent 20 years in the services myself, I have lived in a multitude of places in between, including St Andrews, Scotland and Helston, Cornwall.

Ian

[Gill]

Ian wrote: "Hi

I'm originally from Louth in Lincolnshire. I am now in Lincoln. Having had a service up-bringing and spent 20 years in the services myself, I have lived in a multitude of places in between, i..."
Hi Ian, I'm originally from Horncastle in Lincolnshire - right next door to Louth. Now living in Wakefield Yorkshire.

[Timothy]

Hi Gill,
welcome to the mad house!!, my other half [the boss] is from Wakefield! we are usually up once a month [from norfolk] to see the relatives!
all the best Paul Rix [oldgeezer]
P.S to all my 'northern buddies' stop hogging all the rain! it's as dry as old chips about here again!'

[Deanne]

I'm originally from Chatham in Kent, Dad was in the Navy so we moved around, and I've continued to move about. Chatham, Portsmouth, Nottingham, Leicester, Canterbury, Birmingham, Hastings, Auckland(NZ), Vancouver(Canada) and back to Nottingham. Getting itchy feet again.

[Helen]

According to our weather person who has predicted rain for the weekend, she says you lot 'dahn sarth' will be getting some!

[Timothy]

Hi Helen,
lets just hope she is right!! That said, we can stop worrying as I heard on the news that the powers that be have declared 'an official drought' for the patch I live in! We've just had about an hour of steady light rain and there is the threat/promise of more.
It is so hit and miss, this afternoon I came out of King's Lynn, about 10 miles away, in the space of a couple hundred yards it went from dry to a downpour of biblical proportions. Wipers flapping so fast I thought they were trying to take off! lights on and about 15 miles an hour on an 'A' road!
The water didn't seem to bother the Honda but I passed three cars stalled in it.
When I got home the 'Boss' casually says, 'can you get the washing in please love, it looks like rain!'
Being the semi trained 'oick' I am, I dutifully retrieve her dry fillies etc from the linen line, it was all bone dry! The torrent missed us, but as I said, we've had a nice shower since.
I ought to point out my lovely other half isn't significantly lazier than I am, but she does need her Zimmer frame to get around or the 'chariot' [one Paul Power] if it is any distance.
All the best Paul Rix [a slightly damp, oldgeezer']

[Susan]

Here in Suffolk, we've had about two hours of rain, but it doesn't seem to have made much difference, it's just been instantly absorbed.
I wonder if there will be a hosepipe ban.

[Angela]

We went up to Cromer for half term. I was horrified at how dry East Anglia is - it's one thing reading about it and hearing on the news, but to see everywhere so parched was a bit of a shock. Was sorry to see that lots of the rhododenrons that grow in the woods alongside the road in North Norfolk were dying, presumably through lack of water. I know the crops are more important, but still felt sad. There's supposed to be a good bit of rain tomorrow, so hope for the best!

[Susan]

Hopefully, things will recover if we get some significent rain, it is awful to see things struggling to survive for lack of water.

[Helen]

Its quite incredible the difference in weather, I woke to glorious blue sky and sunshine whilst rain pummeled the window! Went to the sorting office, Morrisons and the bus stop where it rained again. Got in still dry and it threw it down. For the next hour we had sunshine and rain in turns. Then about an hour ago hailstones almost as big as marbles. The sun is out again but the sky is cloudy. My garden is loking lovely, despite me!

[Ian, Moderator]

I'd certainly swap our weather for a bit of a "drought". Somehow think though that if we had a lack of rain oop north, there wouldn't be a govt.committee set up and it wouldn't be national news. I was listening to Radio 4 yesterday and there was a lengthy piece about train delays out of Waterloo. Frankly, who cares....except London based journalists....so keep it to the local news.

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel]

We have had steady and heavy rain on and off here in North Dorset all week. Its been so bad I invested in a cross trainer/cycle for indoors as I wasn't able to go on my new bike!

I have got really into my cycling since getting my new bike 2 weeks ago.

[Helen]

I bought a new bike last August and then after tearing my calf last December I found it to hard to use. Perhaps an indoor one might help.

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel]

Helen wrote: "I bought a new bike last August and then after tearing my calf last December I found it to hard to use. Perhaps an indoor one might help."

Or you could try water running like my ex did when he damaged his knees and calf, you need a bouyancy vest and you do a running motion up and down the pool, no stress and strain on it.

[Helen]

Certainly an idea, thanks. Its a lot better than last Dec, just aches now. Losing weight would help it!

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel]

Helen wrote: "Certainly an idea, thanks. Its a lot better than last Dec, just aches now. Losing weight would help it!"

That's one reason for me to bike as sitting 9 hours on a nightshift doesn't help, not getting the excerise I used to running round the nursing home!

[Helen]

I've just had to buy trousers in a bigger size, not a happy bunny. Of course, I bought a lindt easter bunny to console myself - it was only a £1.

[Sarah]

I'm from Cheshire, North West England :)

[Helen]

Not very far from where I live then Sarah, I'm in South Manchester.

[Helen]

I've got sunshine outside, it's been cold and dull all day. We had hailstones the size of marbles Saturday. Lovely June.

[Paul]

working in Cardiff but home is Exminster (Exeter)

[Helen]

I'm from Barry next to Cardiff.

[Paul]

I can see Barry from my home in St Nicolas!

[Helen]

Oooh, wave to my mum!

[Matt]

Ahem! I see things haven't changed in my absence...I see you've missed me intensely!!!

Any road up (as you more Northerly types may have never stereotypically said!) I spent my few days camping near Leek, on the edge of the Peak District...

...and I have reason to disbelieve the statement that it rains all the time. I had days of glorious clear blue skies & hot unbroken sunshine. Even the drive into Macclesfield was beautiful (apart from the regular 'Bike Crash Kill Death & Risk of Dismemberment Zone' signs.

@;)

[Ian, Moderator]

Strey wrote: "Ahem! I see things haven't changed in my absence...I see you've missed me intensely!!!

Any road up (as you more Northerly types may have never stereotypically said!) I spent my few days camping ..."

Thought you'd emigrated Matt

[Matt]

Hi Ian. I felt I had!! All that sunshine...mind you I was camping this last weekend too & thought I had been caught in a (cold!) tropical storm...

[Ian, Moderator]

Macclesfield is most famous (in my eyes anyway) for being the set of the Ian Curtis/Joy Division film Control. Dark satanic mills and all that.

[Matt]

Indeed...now that takes me back. Was listening to Joy Division 'as is' on 6Music only the other day. New album (whatever they are now!) out I believe.

No mills seen, only a big Tesco!